


Entry #12050104001305

by Calamity_Hero_Awakens



Category: Marble Hornets
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Animals, Broken Bones, But No One's Dead So..., Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everything Is Actually Fine, Fluff, Healing, Holding Hands, Kissing, Light Angst, M/M, Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Slow To Update, Tags May Change, not actually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2020-10-10 02:40:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 39
Words: 44,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20520596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calamity_Hero_Awakens/pseuds/Calamity_Hero_Awakens
Summary: Jay is confused with everything that's going on. Between trying to figure out what to do with Alex and just trying to catch up on sleep, he's slowly losing who he used to be. When Tim suddenly shows up, things could take a turn for the better. Or could they?





	1. Stopping Is Not An Option

**Author's Note:**

> Starting with a G rating but that may change. We'll have to see where this goes.

The dim light from the setting sun shone through the trees. The shadows created by the trees and animals began to stretch, warping and creating monstrous figures. At this time, with the sun disappearing over the horizon, it was definitely not wise to be out. It would be even worse to be lost in the forest. Unfortunately, that was the mistake Jay had made. Camera in hand, he had wandered off the trail and gotten lost. He could try to find his way back, but the smartest move would be to wait until morning. As much as he hated the forest, he hated it even more at nighttime when the masked figures would most likely be out. The red battery light of his camera began flashing rapidly until, a few moments later, the screen went black. /Great, and now my camera’s dead/, Jay thought in exasperation. Leaning back against the thick trunk of a tree, he slid to the ground.

“I need to be brave,” he whispered, immediately regretting it. It sounded like a corny line from a movie no one’s ever seen and having said it made Jay cringe slightly. Nevertheless, he repeated “B-R-A-V-E” over and over until the word and letters themselves were nothing but a jumble of confusion, awkward on his tongue. He knew he should be vigilant, especially when God-knows-what was lurking among the trees, but he couldn’t help letting his eyelids slide closed just slightly. /Just resting my eyes/, he tried to convince himself, though he knew he was lying to himself. /Nothing will happen. I’m just going to rest for a moment…/

The snap of a tree branch jolted Jay out of his peaceful sleep, the first good sleep he’d gotten in months. Pushing himself to a sitting position - he had slid into a horizontal position in his sleep - Jay came face to mask with the strange man that had been following him. The figure didn’t move, only watched, as Jay pushed himself against the tree, subconsciously trying to make himself smaller. Crouched in what must have been a very uncomfortable position, the figure reached up and held a finger to the lips on his mask. Suddenly, Jay felt like he was the loudest person in existence. His breathing, his heart beat, his pulse, everything seemed as loud as the roar of the ocean. He held a hand against his mouth to try and silence himself (or at least slow his breathing) as he stared at the figure.

His head soundlessly whipped to the left, staring at something in the darkness that Jay couldn’t see. He hadn’t realized how dark it was. /How long have I been asleep?/ Jay wondered. The masked man suddenly lunged forward and Jay put his arms up to protect himself from the blow… that never came. His arm was grabbed in a hold that said “I mean business” before he was pulled to his feet and dragged behind the man as he ran. Jay struggled to keep up but somehow managed. He didn’t know why he was going with him, though it probably had something to do with the death grip on his arm. Then there was also the fact that, if the man was running from something, it must be pretty awful.

Putting more trust than he probably should have in the stranger, Jay picked up his pace, matching the man’s speed but not passing him. The grip on his arm never loosened in the slightest.

“Where… Where are we… going?” Jay asked in between pants but his question was met with only silence. The man continued to pull him along, almost tripping once or twice but managing to keep going. “Please,” Jay finally said, the first time he had spoken in over ten minutes. “I can’t… I need… to stop…” His pace had slowed to almost a crawl and his legs felt like jell-o. He made a mental note to start running regularly. As he slowed down and finally stopped, hands on his knees and gasping for breath, the masked man stopped too, giving him an unreadable look that Jay interpreted as annoyance.

Before Jay could utter a word of complaint or even surprise, the man picked him up and threw him on his back before taking off again. Jay held on tightly, almost falling off a handful of times but always managing to save himself. The entire time the man ran, Jay couldn’t stop his racing mind. /Where are we going? Why is it important? Why did he pick me up? Who are we running from?/ //What// are we running from?/ The thoughts piled on top of each other and fought for Jay’s attention but in the end, none won. Eventually, Jay rested his head against the man’s shoulder and tightened his grip before resting his eyes again.


	2. Well Hello There

Panting and covered in sweat, Jay bolted upright in the bed. Taking in the familiar surroundings of his hotel room, he leaned his head back into the pillow and took deep breaths to slow his heart rate. “It was a dream. Just a dream.” Rolling over to look at the glowing alarm clock, he found it was only three in the morning. /Another restless night/, Jay thought to himself as he got out of bed and went to the bathroom. Turning on the sink, he splashed cold water on his face. /If I’m going to be awake, I might as well do something/, he attempted to reason to himself. After drying his face and changing into clean clothes, Jay went down to the first floor, out the door, and got in his car. He was about to drive away when he realized he hadn’t grabbed a camera. Mentally face palming, he climbed out of the car and headed back to his room.

Closing the door behind him, Jay grabbed his camera off the stand and pulled a blank tape from his duffel bag on the floor. Clicking the device closed, Jay was about to hit “Record” when the camera was knocked out of his hand. In shock, he looked up to the doorway and found the person from his dream. Not only his dream, his living nightmare. The masked man stood in the entrance to his room, the door behind him closed. No words were exchanged between the two men. They simply stood in silence and stared at each other, Jay intimidated by the intruder, though he wouldn’t admit it if you asked him. Then, suddenly, the man moved.

The masked figure charged Jay, knocking him to the ground and sitting on his chest to pin him down. Jay wheezed and threw his arms up, trying to get a punch in and at least disorient the infiltrator. Not a single hit made contact. The man was too fast and quickly grabbed his fists, pushing his arms into the dirty hotel carpet. A thought suddenly came to Jay. /Jessica! She might be here! Maybe she can help me!/ As unlikely as it seemed, it just might work. Working a deep breath into his lungs, Jay yelled for help.

“Jessica! Hey! Someone!” The trespasser seemed to lose his cool for a few seconds; his grip on Jay’s arms slackened and he stared at his face, seemingly dumbfounded. He quickly snapped out of it though and clamped a hand over Jay’s mouth, silencing him.

Jay’s mind entered panic mode. To try and calm himself, he tried to break down the situation into a simpler equation. /He’s on my chest - I can’t breathe well. He covered my mouth - I can’t breathe. No breathing equals no oxygen. No oxygen means no organ function. No organ function means death. To avoid death, I need to keep breathing. To keep breathing, I need to push him off me. He doesn’t have my hands, I can push him off./ A fraction of a second passed as these thoughts raced through Jay’s mind and, with a surge of adrenaline, he threw himself up at the man seated on him. The man fell back and hit the floor with an audible “Hmph”.

Jay took this short window of opportunity to pin the man to the floor. Sitting on top of his stomach to hold him down, he reached for the mask that hid the intruder’s face. His left cheek immediately stung from the impact of being punched and he fell back, almost hitting his head on the bedside table. The two men were panting from the effort of the fight but neither made a move. They remained silent and still, sizing each other up and trying to determine a productive next move. Finally, Jay slowly pushed himself up, trying not to startle the man or engage in another battle of the fists.  
“Good to see you too,” Jay finally said, adding a nervous chuckle to the end of his statement. The man remained perfectly still. The only way Jay could now tell he was an actually living person and not a statue was by the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

The man was gone as quickly as he had appeared, turning and fleeing from the room. “Hey! Wait!” Jay called, sprinting after him. He wasn’t about to let himself be harassed and then let the perpetrator flee. Dashing into the hall, he looked both ways and barely caught the sight of the masked man’s shoe as he rounded the corner, entering the stairwell. “Wait!” Jay yelled again as he sprinted down the hall and into the stairwell, leaning over the rail in time to see the man reach the bottom. Panting lightly, he took off down the stairs, slipping on the last few and landing on his butt. With his backside now aching, he pushed himself up and pushed through the double doors, finally entering the parking lot. Surveying the dark lot, Jay reached a frustrating conclusion. He was gone, yet again.


	3. You’re Not Suspicious At All

“Alex, where are you? Why won’t you answer your phone?” Jay complained into the phone after Alex’s voice told him to leave a message. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he took another breath to collect himself. “Something weird happened. I really need to talk to you. I’m at Rosswood right now. Please call me back. Or…” Another sigh. “Don’t. Whatever.” He ended the call and shoved the phone back into his pocket before grabbing his camera off of the car’s dash and exiting the vehicle. In the daytime, the forest looked peaceful. But of course, the truth of it was that the forest was no safer in the daytime than it was at night. Few people walked the miles of winding trails so if something were to happen to Jay, he knew he’d never be found. And that was assuming he was left in the forest, not dumped some place else.

As Jay arrived at the beginning of one of the trails, he stared at the trees looming in front of him. “I wish I didn’t have to do this alone,” he said to himself, quiet enough that the camera wouldn’t pick it up. Just as he was about to begin walking, his phone rang. /Alex! He’s finally calling!/ As he pulled his phone out of his pocket, he was surprised to find that it was, in fact, not Alex. It was Tim. “Hello?” he answered.

“Oh, hey Jay,” Tim said, sounding surprised that he had answered. “Uhm, where are you right now?”

“I’m at Rosswood Park,” Jay answered. “Do you need something?”

“I’m gonna come up there so don’t move, okay? I just…” Tim let out an enervated sigh. “Something weird is going on and I don’t know what to do. I thought maybe you could help… Ya know what? Nevermind, it’s probably nothing.” It sounded like Tim was about to hang up.

“Wait! No, it’s fine. Meet me up here when you can. Something weird happened to me too.” Jay tried to comfort Tim. At first, Tim refused, trying to convince Jay that it was nothing but Jay was persistent. Finally, Tim capitulated and agreed to meet at the park. Less than fifteen minutes later - twelve and a half to be precise, but who was keeping track? Definitely not Jay - Tim pulled into the parking lot. He immediately rolled down his window and asked Jay to get in, not bothering to explain the situation or give any hints as to what might ensue. All the same, Jay asked no questions and silently slid into the passenger’s seat, resting the camera in his lap before buckling up as Tim pulled out of the lot.

The two rode in complete silence - no radio, no conversation, only the quiet - until Tim pulled into the driveway of a house. “Tim, what’s going on?” Jay asked, growing slightly suspicious.

Tim seemed to avoid the question and replied by asking a question of his own. “What, uhm… What kind of weird things have been happening to you?” Jay let out a short sigh but figured that he might as well tell him. Trying to convince Tim to go first would do nothing but give him a massive headache.

“You remember that I told you about a masked figure that seemed to be following me?” Jay asked to which Tim simply nodded. Jay nodded once in acknowledgement and continued. “Well, I had a dream about him the other night. At least, I think it was a dream. That’s not really important though. Anyway-”

“No, I wanna hear about the dream,” Tim interrupted. “I mean, this could honestly be important. How about we go ahead and agree to tell each other everything? ‘Cause I don’t think telling half truths will get us much of anywhere.” Jay knew he was right and if they were going to start working together - assuming this was more than just a one time meet-up due to a panicked Tim - then telling the full truth was indispensable.

“Alright. Well, in the dream, I started out in the forest. At least, I’m assuming it was a dream. If not, my memory only starts when I got lost in the forest. My camera’s battery died and I ended up falling asleep. When I woke up, the masked figure was in front of me. He just sat there, staring at me, until I guess he saw something. He jumped up and grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him. We ran until I just couldn’t anymore. When I stopped, he picked me up and kept running. I guess I fell asleep again because the next thing I knew, I was in my bed in the hotel room. So, are you appeased now? Can I move on?”

“Be my guest,” Tim replied, his sarcasm matching Jay’s. His tone almost made it seem like a challenge.

“/Anyway/,” Jay began again, stressing the word, “After I woke up, I went down to the parking lot to leave when I realized I’d left my camera.”

“So, of course, you went back to get it,” Tim correctly predicted. “Because you’re obviously the smartest one out of this little group.”

“I’d appreciate it if you’d keep your comments to yourself, Tim.” Jay was growing tired of Tim’s sarcastic comments. “But yes, I went back to get my camera. After I finished changing the tape, the man appeared and knocked it out of my hand. Then he charged me and pinned me to the ground. I fought back and finally had him pinned when he punched me. I tried to chase after him but by the time I got to the parking lot, he was gone. That just seems really weird. I mean, seeing him is no special occasion but in the hotel? That just seems like it would be outside his comfort zone.”

The entire time Jay was retelling his tale, except for his previous outbursts, Tim sat in reverent silence. Even after he finished, Tim remained silent. When he finally spoke, it wasn’t something Jay had particularly expected. “I think you should stay here tonight.”

“What? What about my car? We just left it at the park,” Jay argued.

“Jay, I promise you, it’s really not important. Please just stay. There’s something you need to see and I’m not willing to just hand you the tapes and let you leave. ‘Cause that’s seriously one of the worst ideas ever,” Tim explained.

“What do I get if I agree to stay?” Jay asked skeptically, unsure if the reward was worth the sacrifice, if there was a reward at all.  
Tim gave Jay a slightly stunned look, like he couldn’t believe he had just been asked such a dumb question, but he quickly composed himself. “You get answers. Isn’t that what you want? Isn’t that the point of doing all this? Of trying to find Alex and Amy and Brian? You just want answers. So that’s why you’ll do it.” Tim’s tone conveyed that he had Jay figured out. Even if they hadn’t spent hardly any time together, he had easily figured Jay out. It wasn’t that difficult. All Jay wanted was answers. He might have said that he wanted to stop everything, to make everything right, but Tim honestly thought that Jay didn’t care. Whether or not things were returned to their previous state, Jay simply wanted to know why. Or so Tim thought.

Silence hung in the air like a heavy blanket, threatening to suffocate them both. What broke the silence, Jay noticed, was the sound of rain against the car’s exterior. It quietly beat down on the aluminium and glass contraption that they were both seated inside, but it began to gain speed with every passing moment until the roar of the rain was deafening. With the rain drowning out his voice, Jay mumbled, “I want more than answers.” But Tim heard. He heard the words crystal clear. He just didn’t respond. Opening his car door, Jay climbed out into the drenching rain, immediately being soaked as he climbed onto the porch, taking the steps two at a time. Tim followed behind him but with less urgency, quickly being drenched to the bone.

Jay quietly waited behind Tim as he unlocked the door and followed him inside once it was open. The house was a mess: papers littered the floor, dirty cups and plates covered the kitchen counter and the coffee table, but most alarming of all were the half empty pill bottles strewn across the room. Tim had already informed Jay that he took medications, specifically an anti seizure medication and a few different antidepressants. Nevertheless, seeing the bottles carelessly thrown about was concerning.  
“Tim, I have one condition,” Jay finally said, Tim grunting in acknowledgement but not asking him to continue. Jay did anyway. “If you make me stay here tonight, I’m cleaning this place for you.”

Tim laughed a snarky, sarcastic laugh. “That’s not much of a deal for you, now is it?” Jay shrugged, not in the mood to reason with him. He had his own reasons for wanting the place clean, namely that he couldn’t stand the dirty atmosphere. It was so counterproductive to him. So no, it wasn’t much of a deal for Jay, but he would feel better knowing the place was clean. Tim would have a clean space to live and his medications organized and just knowing that let Jay breathe a little easier.


	4. Three Cheers For Organization

As Jay took his first break from cleaning, he flopped down onto the cushion at the end of the couch, turning to look out the window behind him. Lifting the blinds with his index finger, he saw that, three hours later, it was still raining. The house itself had mostly been cleaned; the dishes were in the dishwasher, the papers had been stacked up on the counter to be sorted through later, and the overflowing trash cans had been emptied. The only thing left was sorting the papers (which was something Tim would have to do), organizing the medicines, and then grocery shopping. Just as Jay was contemplating whether or not to go shopping then or later, Tim came down the hall looking more tired than ever. The circles under his eyes were darker and he seemed stiff. Yawning, he came into the living room and plopped down on the unoccupied end of the couch. Immediately, his head leaned back into the soft cushions and his eyes closed. Even after taking a long nap, Tim could never seem to get enough sleep.

“Sleep well?” Jay asked, already knowing the answer. Tim made a noise that sounded like, “Hm” but otherwise remained quiet and still. Finding his companion to be lousy company, Jay returned to his task of organizing and cleaning. He wandered room to room, picking up bottles of pills as he went. Some were half full, some were completely full, and a few others were empty, but the most frustrating thing about them was that several of the labels had been torn off or damaged. The few that were still legible were simply Tylenol and other over the counter pain relievers. Setting all of the bottles he had gathered on the coffee table in the living room, Jay asked, “Tim, how many different medications do you have? Because there’s at least twenty bottles of these and I can’t read the labels.” Groaning, Tim pushed himself up on the couch - he must have fallen over while Jay was in another room.  
“I take three different kinds, but none of them look similar. Just group them that way,” Tim replied tiredly, his eyes remaining closed.

“And you’re sure about that?” Jay asked, inspecting the pills. Tim didn’t reply but by the way the pills looked, he seemed to be telling the truth. There were three different types and none of them resembled the others. Sitting down on the floor, not wanting to disturb Tim, Jay began sorting the bottles into different categories. Small white ones over here, larger blue ones over here, huge oblong white ones over here, and generic pain relievers over here. The process didn’t take long and soon, Jay had to wake Tim so he could tell him what the pills were exactly. Tim let out a short groan but opened his eyes and stretched his arms before leaning forward to look at them.

“The white ones are Trazodone,” he said, pointing to a bottle with small white pills. Pointing to the blue ones, he said, “Those are Bupropion,” and moving to the last ones, he looked at them carefully before saying, “I think those are Diazepam but I can’t remember. Either way, they’re for seizures.” Nodding, Jay grabbed a loose piece of paper and began writing down the information Tim had given him along with what he could salvage from the labels. Might as well make new labels, Jay thought as he copied the information over and over, creating a new label for each illegibly labeled bottle. After hunting down a pair of scissors and some tape, he taped the labels onto the bottles. They weren’t fancy, but now they had labels and Tim would know what they were, how many to take, and when to take them. That was a start.

“Where would be the best place to put these so you’ll remember to take them?” Jay asked, gathering up the bottles.

Tim sleepily shrugged then indifferently replied, “Bathroom cabinet, I guess.” Jay nodded then took the armful of bottles to the bathroom and lined them up in the cabinet above the toilet. Returning to the living room, Jay found Tim was finally awake and alert.

“You need to go grocery shopping,” Jay informed him, “And also sort the papers on the counter.” Tim rolled his eyes, back to his sarcastic self now that he was awake.

“I’ll do that if you take a nap,” Tim shortly replied, not bothering to explain his reasoning. But Jay wasn’t having that. As with anything else, he wanted a reason why. Rolling his eyes again, Tim said, “Because. You don’t get enough sleep. When’s the last time you slept through the night? Longer than five hours?” Jay thought the question over but couldn’t answer it. He honestly couldn’t remember the last time he had slept well. “Precisely,” Tim said after a few beats of silence. “So while I do these things, you’re going to take a nap. Now go.” Jay rolled his eyes but complied with the command.

Going into Tim’s room, he closed the door behind him and flopped face down on the bed, not bothering to take off his jacket or shirt. The moment his head hit the pillow, he was asleep.


	5. Shut Up And Go To Sleep

Mind groggy and eyes blurry, Jay rolled over to look at the alarm clock on the side table which displayed the time of 2:17 am. Wiping the sleep from his eyes with his hands, he quickly pushed himself up and went out to the living room. He felt bad for taking over Tim’s bed, especially for so long. Expecting to find Tim asleep on the couch, Jay was surprised to find him sitting on the floor in the kitchen. His back was pressed up against the lower cabinets and his head was in his hands. If nothing else, he looked completely exhausted.

“Tim?” Jay gently asked as he approached, being careful not to startle him. Tim looked up and gave him a small smile but said nothing. Jay lowered himself to the floor beside Tim and stared at the wall across from him, waiting for Tim to say something. A long moment of silence passed before he finally looked up and spoke.

“I’ve just been thinkin’, ya know? About how things used to be. Before I met Alex, before all this weird stuff started, before my best friend disappeared from the face of the earth. Just, back when things were normal. God, I’d give anything for this to just be a bad dream.” His head dropped back into his hands as he let out a sigh. Jay wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say, especially since he had the exact same thoughts. He felt like this was all a nightmare and at any moment, his alarm clock would go off and save him from this dreamscape. But so far, that was looking more and more improbable.

Minutes of silence passed until Jay finally said, “You should get some sleep. You can show me whatever it is that I need to see in the morning.”

“I’m not that tired,” Tim said, looking up at him. The dark circles under his eyes had only gotten darker and it was quite obvious that he was tired.

Having none of it, Jay said, “Go get in bed. I’ll get your pill, okay?” Though he claimed to not be tired, Tim willingly obeyed and went to his room while Jay went to get his medication. Upon entering his room, Jay handed him a bottle of water and a small white pill which Tim easily swallowed before laying back on the soft bed.

“Do you ever wish you could be someone else? Just… anyone else. Someone normal, who doesn’t have to deal with the stuff we do.” Tim stared at Jay who had taken a seat on the floor, waiting for his reply. Jay didn’t have to think of the answer because he already knew it.

“Yeah. But then I think about the people that are gone - or at least missing - and I know that, even if we were the normal ones, there would be someone else that would have to deal with this. So it wouldn’t really be solving the problem, it would just be passing it along to someone else. And they would wish the exact same thing, to be a normal person again, and the cycle would keep repeating.”

With heavy eyelids, Tim seemed to consider Jay’s response before mumbling, “I guess you’re right” and closing his eyes all the way. Jay listened to Tim’s heavy breathing until he was sure he was asleep then headed towards the door, turning off the lamp on his way. Standing in the doorway, Jay vowed to himself that even if he couldn’t save himself or figure out what was going on, he was going to keep Tim safe no matter what and try to give him a normal life. If nothing else, he would save Tim from all of this and, most importantly, himself.


	6. Remember When Alex Wasn’t A Psycho?

“Do you remember the first time we met?” Jay asked. The two had just finished their breakfast of eggs, toast, and for Tim, Bupropion. Laid back on the couch, Tim nodded his head.

“It was the first day Alex was shooting for Marble Hornets. I pulled up with Brian and was waiting around for things to start when you introduced yourself. Because, of course, Alex wouldn’t.” Jay chuckled. Tim was right; Alex either considered himself too important or thought it to be a waste of time with such formalities as the introduction of the other members. That was one thing both Tim and Jay found annoying about Alex though the list was long.

“Yeah, and right after I introduced myself, he started yelling, ‘I’m not paying you to stand around! Places, people!’ As if he was actually paying us at all.” But Jay knew that, if he had to do it all over again, all the money in the world couldn’t convince him to help out with the student film.

They were both silent then, lost in their own trains of thought. Jay thought about Alex and the person he used to be. Before the student film, before his extreme mood shift, before he lost himself, he used to be a normal person. Pleasant, even. If only he hadn’t begun his stupid student film. Then again, there was no actual evidence that the film had started anything. It could have been an odd coincidence. Or maybe that /thing/ had waited for Alex to gather them all together before he turned him. But what was so special about them? Brian, Amy, Jessica, Alex, Jay, Tim? What could possibly be the logic behind all this? Or maybe there was no logic at all.

“So, um, I guess I should show you that thing now. I mean, that /is/ why you’re here,” Tim said, interrupting Jay’s thoughts.  
“Oh, uh, yeah,” Jay murmured as Tim pushed himself off the couch. He watched absentmindedly as Tim disappeared down the hall then reappeared with a tape in his hand.

“Where’s your camera?” Tim asked, not willing to simply hand over the tape. Jay had to think about it before remembering that he had left it in Tim’s car.

“I think I left it in your car,” he said, getting up from the couch and heading toward the door. Tim said nothing as he went out the door and descended the porch steps. Opening the passenger side door, Jay searched the floorboard before finding his camera half under the seat. Pulling it out, he stopped to see if the batteries still worked. He had changed the batteries not too long ago but that really didn’t mean anything. The camera started right up and the battery icon in the top right corner claimed that the battery was fully charged (or at least close to it). Closing the car door behind him, Jay bounded up the steps and back into the house.

“Got it,” he said as he entered. Tim looked up from his place on the couch and gave a small nod as Jay closed the door. Taking a seat beside Tim, Jay held out his hand for the tape. At first, Tim seemed reluctant but after a few seconds, he placed the tape into Jay’s open hand. Before he could put it in the tape deck, Tim grabbed his wrist lightly.  
“You can’t freak out, got it?”

“Tim, I’m not going to freak out. At this point, little surprises me. If I had to guess, I’d say the same is true for you as well.” Tim gave an unconvincing nod to Jay’s statement but released his wrist. “Thank you,” Jay said as he opened the tape deck and put the tape in. As soon as the LCD screen lit up, Jay’s stomach churned. /Oh no/, his mind panicked as the tape began.


	7. So, This Happened

Judging by the camera’s movements, it seemed to be a chest mounted camera. The night vision was on, casting everything into a green light. The person walking - Jay could only assume it was Tim - was in the forest. His footsteps were quiet but not silent, another way he knew it was Tim. Had it been the hooded figure, the footsteps would not be audible. For at least five minutes straight, Jay watched him walk through the woods. He could have fast forwarded through the boring footage but if his experiences so far had taught him anything, it was that every second was important. Finally, Tim stopped. Holding the camera closer to inspect the screen, Jay saw himself on the ground beside the tree, sleeping. No, this couldn’t be Tim. It had to be a tape left for him. Maybe the masked figure had hidden it and Tim had found it. But this couldn’t be Tim.

The man with the chest mounted camera crouched down and slowly crept closer until he was directly in front of Jay. A stick beneath his shoe snapped and Jay jumped slightly before pushing himself to a sitting position, coming closer to the man. On the screen, he froze as the man lifted a single finger and held it to what Jay assumed was his lips. Jay subconsciously drew in a breath and held it as he watched the events he had assumed were a dream on the screen. The digital Jay held his hand against his mouth, trying to quiet his breathing without success. If anything, it only amplified the sound. The camera slightly turned to the right before the man reached for Jay, who threw his arms up to protect himself. The man’s left hand grabbed Jay’s bicep and pulled him up before he took off running.

The camera’s focus was blurry as he ran and the only sound was their loud footsteps, heavy breathing, and the occasional question panted out by Jay. By the time they stopped running, Jay felt a little sicker than he had to begin with, this time due to the unsteady motion of the camera. The man turned, swinging the camera’s focus around to Jay who had stopped, hands on his knees, and was panting that he needed to stop. Behind the mask, the man gave a small huff before picking Jay up and slinging him onto his back then continuing to run. The edges of the screen slowly grew darker before the video changed to negative, shifting everything black to white before the screen went completely black. Jay was about to pop the tape out when the video returned.

The man was now in the tunnel in Rosswood Park. The time of day seemed to have stayed the same so it was most likely the same day. The masked figure crouched down and slid Jay off of his back, turning around to show him laying on the concrete. The masked figure - who Jay decided to call TMF for short - began walking down the tunnel, his footsteps quietly echoing in the empty space. When he got close to the end of the tunnel, he stopped and quickly turned around to reveal Jay, asleep as before on the ground, and the tall faceless creature at the opposite end.

The video became distorted, the sounds warping into high pitched ringing and the visual becoming black and white with static creeping along the edges. Taking slow, careful steps, TMF approached the sleeping man on the ground and picked him up under the arms before slowly dragging him away from the demonesque figure. The creature made no moves, only seemed to watch as Jay was dragged away. Then the video suddenly turned black and words appeared on the screen: “Y̵̨̗̗̦͎̙̪̟̱̝̞̆͆̈͊͋͑̈́o̸̢̘̲̮͇͓͎̫͔̭̥̰̊̊̄͒̄̐̚͜͜ͅữ̸͚̱̙͖̥̣̭͈͍̑͌̍̒͐̃̏͐̑͝͝ ̴̡̛͉̠͖̮̤̞̻̰̺̓̊͂͌̈́̀̊ä̷̧̧̙̳͙̥̲̩͕̹̞̬̮̑͒̆͂̂̾̋̋̎̔͐͝͠ͅŗ̶̝͕̬̬̖̺̖̱́̾̒̏̅̉͊͠͠e̷̢̫̱͓͙̩̠̜̳͙̞̺̼͊͐͗̆̿̂̅͆ ̶̙͚͛͆̓̃͊̔̄̂͑͆̈́͘͝͠a̴̧̼͈͍̥̘̺͋́͌̽̄̚̚͠͠ͅͅ ̸̡̧̡̨͙̗͍̱̺̬̮̲͋̒͆̚l̴̡̲͖̪͖͓̰̠̿̃͑̌̄͛̒̈́̾ǐ̵̢̩̜̻̦͖͈̖̩̲̪̹̗̮̹̌à̵͖̼̹̫̣̀̂̉̐̆̾̓́͆̀̃̚r̶̛͖̙͈͇̘̜͕͆͂̚͜” followed by “H̷͕͋̓̂̾̈́̿͝͝ȩ̴̜̹̻͇̃͛ ̵̙͓͉̬̥̬̹̝̓͛̆̑͗̋̾͊͋͊͋́̚͜͜͝ͅẅ̶͔̤͉͓̙̪̘̝͈̙̱̤̏̈́͜i̷̫͇͎̣̞̥̞̬̹̭̖̝͋̑̓̈́̈͠l̶̡̮̟̼̘̝̍͛̿̏̊̇̃͝ļ̴̧̛͍͚̳̪̺̤̼̠ ̷̡̡̫̜͓͇̯́̔̀̐̓̌̂͂̽͌͘̕͝k̵̠̲̜̳̞̪̻̰͙̐͆̋̏̍̇͠n̶̢͙̭͙̋̏̉̈́̐͜ơ̶̧̲͖̻͈͔͌̽̆̾̂̇͝ͅw̵̨̩̖̘͔̘̺̼͕̠̖͒͂͒̎̀̅̈́͒̃̍̕̕” and finally “Ḧ̶̨͍̫̥̭̩̮̫̭́̓͠ͅe̵̛͍̯̻̻͔̗̞͓̺̹̘͊̀̅͑̍̽̑̋͂̋ ̷͙̞̥͖͚͒̀̅̄̈́̌̊͌́̽͌͗ẁ̴̢̬͚̇͑̌̓̌̓i̷͚̮̥͗͒̏̽͘ļ̷͖̩̱͔͚͔̱͖̊̑̄͜l̷̬̉̈́̉͑̏̕̚͝͠ ̶̡̩̬̫͍͈̈́͆̉͂̊̇̏͋͋l̷̡̮̜̤̱̼͉̟̱͚͓̬̉̿̇̔̇̊͘è̶̗̄̔͠a̷̡̛̮͌̈́͐̓̏̀́̿̚͝d̶̼̹̖̥̍͘ ̷̢͉̪̤̓̏̉̈̋͗͌̐̿̉̚m̸̧̺̩̬͓̲̻͖͓͚͗͂̍̀̑̿̀̃͐̓̒̇̿̽ͅe̷̡̙̣̱̪̝̹̹͗͂̑̈́ͅ”.

Judging by the style, it seemed clear that it was a totheark video. Would that mean TMF was totheark? But that would make no sense. If TMF /was/ totheark, then what would “He will lead me” mean? What was there to find? The words came back to Jay from a previous totheark video, “He will lead me totheark.” What was the ark? A person? So TMF was a liar… and he - whoever that was - would lead him to the ark.

It finally occurred to Jay that he was now simply staring at a blank screen so he turned off the camera and set it in his lap, thinking over the video. /What is there to find?/ he silently lamented. /Who could be doing this?/ Then it occurred to him. Who was the missing piece? Who was never there when the masked or hooded figures would appear? It call came down to one person: Alex Kralie.


	8. Distractions From The Monotony Of Life

“That’s it!” Tim yelled, kicking open the door, though it wasn’t locked in the first place; it hadn’t even been closed. Jay had left it open a crack in case Tim needed to get something. After all, it was /his/ house. But Tim’s mood shift was a welcomed change for Jay. Rarely was he happy or excited, but when he was, he tended to have a bit of a dramatic flare.

“You’ve been on that computer all day! It’s time to do something else!” Tim said, standing behind Jay at the desk, who quickly spun the chair around and gave him a small glare.

“I don’t have time to do ‘something else’. I have to figure out who made this tape. If I can figure it out, we’ll be that much closer to figuring all of this out,” Jay argued before spinning the chair back around and continuing to analyze the video for the thousandth time. Rolling his eyes, Tim leaned over Jay’s shoulder and closed the laptop before spinning the chair back around to face him.

“You’re going to drive yourself crazy with this stuff. Besides, life’s too short to take it seriously. Come on, let’s go do something! Get out of here and just enjoy ourselves.” Jay opened his mouth to argue when Tim continued. “I know, I know. ‘I have to figure out who made this. We have to get closer to figuring it out’ and all that. But it’s only for a day. Then you can get back to hyperfocusing on the source of your anxiety, okay?” Letting out a small sigh, Jay finally acquiesced.

“Great!” Tim said, clapping his hands together as a smile appeared on his face, the first one in a long time. “I have something for you to do first,” he said as he began walking down the hallway, Jay reluctantly following him. /What have I gotten myself into?/ Jay wondered as he grabbed his camera off the coffee table. As Tim reached the door, he turned around to find the camera in Jay’s hand.

“Nuh-uh. Nope. That’s not happening. Put it back,” Tim scolded Jay, who simply stood there with an incredulous expression.

“You want me to put it back? But… But I don’t go anywhere without it. What if something happens? I won’t have video proof of it! I won’t be able to analyze it later! I have to take it! What if-”

“If something does happen, oh well. You need to stop worrying so much. That’s exactly why I’m making you take a break. You need to mellow out. It’s not good for your body and it’s not good for your mental health. So just trust me on this? Please?” Tim tried to reassure Jay.

Letting out a sigh, Jay replied, “What do you want me to do?”


	9. If You Take Life Too Seriously, You’ll Never Make It Out Alive

“Why do we have to stop here?” Jay asked as Tim pulled up to a dollar store.

“I have to go get something,” Tim replied as he cut the car’s engine and removed the keys, sliding them into his pocket as he exited the vehicle. “I’ll be right back.”

“I’m coming with you,” Jay blurted out, hand on the door handle.

“I’m literally just running into the store. You don’t really need to come in unless you need something.”

“I do! I do…” Jay quickly said as he exited the vehicle as well, pushing the door shut behind him. Tim raised his eyebrows in a questioning look but didn’t push Jay on the subject. Instead, the two made their way into the store, splitting up shortly after their entrance. While Tim wandered to the left side of the store to search for whatever supplies he needed, Jay went straight to the back. With no aisle labels, he wasn’t sure where he should look, especially considering that he really didn’t need anything. He just didn’t want to be left alone in the car.

Aimlessly wandering from aisle to aisle, Jay finally stopped in front of the cards. Scanning over the labels, the words all seemed to blend together into a string of letters that didn’t matter. Birthday, anniversary, sympathy, for mom, for dad, funny birthday. /It all seems like a waste/, Jay thought. /One day, we’ll all be dead and these cards will be completely worthless. “Congratulations?” What are we congratulating? “You stayed alive for another year! Congrats, you’re now this much closer to death!”/ Without even realizing it, Jay’s thoughts had taken a turn for the worse.

With his thoughts dark and his limbs suddenly heavy, Jay drug himself from aisle to aisle, wandering once again until he heard Tim call from the front, “You ‘bout ready, Jay?”

“Yeah,” Jay called back as he made his way to the front. As he neared the registers, it occurred to him that he hadn’t grabbed anything. Rounding the end of the aisle, he grabbed the first thing he could get his hands on and placed it on the black rubber belt with the other items Tim was purchasing. Jay absentmindedly watched as the items were scanned and placed in a plastic bag. /Wait, where’s Tim?/

Turning around, Jay found Tim talking to another associate and pointing out something on a chart. The sales associate nodded before opening a drawer and pulling out something then setting it on the counter. For once, Jay’s mind was peacefully blank as he watched the young woman fill each rubber balloon one by one with helium. As each blue balloon inflated, Jay felt a sense of calmness about him though he couldn’t exactly pinpoint the reason why. Once all the balloons were filled and had strings tied to them, Tim returned to the register to pay.

“Did you find everything okay?” the woman ringing him up asked. Instead of verbally responding, Tim simply nodded his head. “Alright, your total will be thirteen dollars and ninety one cents.” Tim pulled a twenty out of his wallet and handed it to the woman who proceeded to count out his change and hand him the money, a receipt, and the plastic bag. “Have a nice day!” The cashier cheerfully called as Tim and Jay exited the store.

As Tim pushed the balloons - of which there was a total of ten - into the back of the car, Jay climbed into the front seat and fastened his seatbelt. After the balloons were secure, Tim climbed into the driver’s seat and closed the door as he set the plastic bag in his lap.

After staring into the bag for an uncomfortable amount of time, Tim finally asked, “Jay, do we need to talk about something?”

“What do you mean?” Jay asked, turning to face Tim with a truly perplexed expression. Reaching into the bag, Tim pulled out a small pink box with the words “Pregnancy Test” printed on the side in large white letters. /Of course/ that had been the first thing he grabbed. The two stared at each other for a long moment before they both burst out laughing. Not only was Tim laughing, he was /genuinely/ laughing, a truly happy expression on his face. The look alone lifted Jay’s spirits. /Today might not be so bad after all/, Jay conceded.


	10. We Have Lift Off

“So why exactly are we here?” Jay asked as Tim pulled in to a parking space. In front of them was a park - not a park with a forest and walking trails, but a park for children with brightly coloured equipment. Beyond the park was an open subdivision with a single line of trees separating each house. Outside of the subdivision, houses stretched in each direction for miles. Behind them was the road and across the street stood a gas station. With no forest in sight, Jay was already feeling a little more confident.

“Come on,” Tim finally said as he exited the vehicle, Jay following suit. Once outside the car, Tim tossed the plastic bag to Jay before grabbing the balloons out of the back seat.

The park was empty, which Jay was thankful for. Two adult men hanging around a park with children - with balloons and coloured markers, no less - would be extremely suspicious, and Jay didn’t feel like having to explain the situation to the police.  
After lightly tying the balloons to a nearby piece of equipment, Tim grabbed the bag from Jay and removed the pack of paper, tearing the plastic wrap off and stuffing the trash back into the bag before doing the same with the markers.

“Alright,” Tim said as he dropped the plastic bag on the ground. “My name is doctor Wright and I will be your therapist for today.” Jay couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh as Tim continued. “Today we’re going to try an activity to help you deal with the stress you’re feeling. Unless you don’t feel any?”

Grinning, Jay shook his head. “No, I feel plenty of stress, trust me.” Tim pretended to read over the piece of paper - as if Jay’s mental health history had actually been written on it - before nodding.

“Yes, above all else, you seem to have a long history of crippling stress. So,” Tim clapped his hands, “we’re going to try to relieve that stress.” Tim handed Jay a sheet of paper and let him pick one of the markers before continuing with his speech. “I want you to write what is causing you the most stress on that piece of paper.”

Removing the cap from the marker, Jay began writing on the paper. It took him no time to write something down because he knew /exactly/ what was causing him the most stress. Recapping the marker, Jay held it out to Tim who took it and read it over.

“I am stressed because strange things are happening that I have no control over.”

“Good. Now roll it up,” Tim said as he went to untie a balloon. Following “his therapist’s” orders, Jay rolled the paper into a scroll. “Now I want you to tie the balloon to the paper.” The two traded objects and Tim held the scroll as Jay tied the string tightly around it. Once the paper was tied up, the two traded back and Tim held the balloon as he said, “If you had to describe that sentence with one word, what would it be?”

Jay thought it over before shrugging and indifferently replying, “It would probably be ‘powerless’.”  
Tim nodded. “Then write that on the balloon.” Jay did as instructed before Tim handed the balloon back to him.  
“Now what?” Jay asked.

“Now you let it go,” Tim replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. What else would he do with it? Invite it to dinner?

Holding onto the string of the balloon, Jay stared at the rolled up paper. What was this supposed to solve? Letting go of the balloon wouldn’t make the stress go away. It would still be there, same as always. Nothing would change. But maybe, if nothing else, letting go of it would provide the illusion of peace. Fake as it might be, Jay welcomed it. If this could, in some way, let him feel at least temporary relief, then why not? Taking a slow, deep breath, Jay let go of the balloon.


	11. That Was Fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have requests for oneshots that I really wanna do but I also have no motivation so here we go.

“So, was today a total bust?” Tim asked as he unlocked the front door. As much as Jay hadn’t wanted to go, he actually enjoyed himself. Not spending all day staring at a screen or roaming through the woods was a nice change.

First they had gone to the park to do a “stress relieving exercise” which had actually been quite helpful. Next, the two drove through a fast food restaurant and got lunch before heading to the movie theatre. Nothing had looked very interesting but the alternative was to go home or try to think of something else to do so the two decided on a movie, paid for their tickets, and sat through the two hour movie. By the time it was finally over, the two had already lost interest. Not sure what to do next, they had driven around town until they found a bridge. Tim drove to the end and parked before they backtracked to the bridge and sat on the side, safely behind the metal barrier.

Staring out at the water on the lake, the two had watched the people below. Some were fishing, some were swimming close to the shore, others were on boats, swiftly gliding over the waves. To the left, parents and their young children splashed around in the shallow water. To the right, a high cliff rose up to the level of the road. All in all, it was a very peaceful scene. Had he not been able to hear the loud roar of the cars rushing by behind him, it would have been the perfect scene. Sitting on the side of the road, staring down at the life below, the two had sat in silence for a while until Tim had asked something random. Jay had laughed before responding and the two had begun having a conversation, long, but never serious. They had sat for hours simply talking until the sun had started going down.

“Guess it’s about time to head back,” Tim had said solemnly as he pushed himself up, his good mood seeming to fade with the sun. On the way home, Jay had suggested they stop for dinner. Neither of them were quite ready to go back so the two had gone to a cheap restaurant for dinner. Another hour and a half later, they were finally home.

Closing the door behind him, Jay answered Tim. “No, I actually had fun today… It was good to see you actually happy.”

Tim gave Jay a half hearted smile. “I wish I felt like this more often. My good days are few and far between, unfortunately.” He let out a yawn before glancing at his wrist. “It’s already nine o’clock.” Jay was tempted to say something about it not being late but neither of them slept well so going to bed early would be a nice change. “I guess I should make up the couch for you?” Tim asked, unsure what to do. Having people over wasn’t exactly something he did often.

“No, that’s okay. I’ll just take a blanket if that’s alright,” Jay replied, noticing Tim’s uncomfortable stance. Tim nodded and seemed to let out a light sigh of relief before heading to his room to get the items. He reappeared a few moments later with a soft red blanket and one of his pillows.

“Is this okay?” Tim asked, regaining his uncomfortable stance.

“This is fine,” Jay replied, giving Tim a small smile to reassure him.

Tim gave a quick smile back before saying, “Good night” and heading back towards his room.

“Trazodone,” Jay called after him, smiling to himself as he heard Tim open the bathroom door to get his pills. It didn’t take long for Jay to become drowsy so, shoving the pillow under his head and pulling the blanket over him, he rolled over and closed his eyes, welcoming the peaceful darkness of sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll continue working on this but not immediately unless someone takes an interest and actually wants an update soon. So, yeah. Oneshots coming... eventually...


	12. He Is Lying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've noticed that the only time I ever write and make progress on a story is when I have lots of homework and things I need to do. Oh well. An update's an update.

As the morning light shone through the blinds, Jay awoke from his deep sleep. A good night’s sleep was hard to come by and he was grateful for it. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he glanced at his watch to find that it was only six in the morning. A nine hours sleep? That was incredible. It also occurred to him that he hadn’t planned to stay with Tim for this long. Actually, he hadn’t planned to stay with Tim at all; he was just supposed to come over and see the tape. Then there was also the fact that his car was still at the park. It was more than likely perfectly fine but he didn’t want to chance it any longer. The walk there wouldn’t be too bad, maybe an hour or so. Throwing the blanket back, Jay crept down the hall to Tim’s room and peeked in the door to find him sound asleep. Grabbing his camera, Jay silently opened the front door and crept down the porch steps.

It was times like this - when a lot of walking was involved - that Jay wished he had his chest mounted camera. It would make things so much easier. Half an hour in, his arm was beginning to cramp slightly so he switched the hand held device to the left hand. The walk went faster than he had anticipated and by the time he reached his car, he realized he’d been holding his breath for a while now. But of course, his car was exactly where he left it. No tires missing, no windows busted out, exactly as it had been. Digging into his pocket, Jay fished out his keys and unlocked the vehicle before climbing in. He knew Tim would probably be awake in the next few hours if he wasn’t already and Jay completely disappearing would alarm him. That’s why Jay decided to run back to the hotel and grab some clothes, take a shower, and head back to Tim’s house.

As he pulled into the parking lot of the hotel, he could sense something was wrong. Going against his better judgement, Jay climbed out of the car, locking it behind him, and headed up to his room. As he unlocked the door, he quickly pushed it open, prepared to find the worse. To his relief (and perhaps, slight disappointment) Jay found that his room was exactly as he had left it. Packing his stuff back into his duffel bag, he knew that it was time to get out of there. If nothing else, this was the last day that the room would belong to him. After that, he would have to find somewhere else to go. /Home would be nice,/ Jay thought as he got in the shower; of course, that was no longer an option. His apartment had burned over a month ago but it had never really felt like home to begin with.

Once Jay had finished his shower and dressed in clean clothes, he packed his camera and the camera stand into his bag and put on the chest mounted camera before going downstairs to check out. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he considered going back to check on the room adjoining his, hoping Jessica had possibly returned, but he knew better. Besides, he thought he had already seen another person occupying the room.

“Did you enjoy your stay?” the friendly woman behind the desk asked as he reached for the sign out sheet.

“Oh, uhm, yeah,” Jay distractedly replied as he signed his name. “Have a nice day,” he quietly said as he headed for the exit, trying to avoid a conversation.

As Jay reached his car in the parking lot, he popped the trunk and threw his duffel bag into the vehicle. His laptop and bag of tapes had already been placed in the hidden compartment in the trunk so all of his possessions were now securely in the car. Sliding into the driver’s seat, Jay pulled away from the hotel. He knew Tim would become a nervous wreck if he woke up and Jay wasn’t there so, as fast as possible, Jay made his way back to Tim’s house. As he pulled into the driveway, his phone rang.

“Hello?” Jay asked the device after clicking the green “answer” button.

“Jay, where are you?” Tim’s worried voice asked. Jay chuckled.

“The driveway. I’m about to come inside.” On the other end of the call, Tim let out a relieved sigh before hanging up. Shutting the car off, Jay pulled his keys from the ignition before sliding out of the car and walking up the porch steps. Inside, Tim was resting on the sofa, staring at nothing in particular.

“Where were you?” Tim asked as Jay entered the house.

“I just had to take care of something. Nothing big.” Jay’s hands slid into his pockets and immediately his mind was sent into panic mode. His wallet was missing. Where had he left it? He could have sworn it was still there. “I’ll be right back,” Jay mumbled as he headed back out the door to his car. Peering in the window, he saw his wallet in the driver’s seat. His heart began to slow, his mind calming as he realized his clumsiness and opened the door to retrieve the object. Flipping the folded pieces of leather open, he froze. A piece of paper was stuck inside. In black scribbled letters were the numbers 01001000 01100101 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101100 01111001 01101001 01101110 01100111. At first glance, it was obviously binary code. Because he didn’t have the code itself memorized, he would have to decipher it later.

Jamming the object into his front pocket, Jay closed the car door behind him before locking the car and hurrying back inside. As he pushed the front door open a second time, Jay was already wondering about where he would be going next. Staying in the same place for more than a few days was always a terrible idea. At the same time, not having a job meant he was low on funds. Dangerously low. The money that hadn't been spent on hotel rooms, blank tapes, and groceries was going straight into his gas tank. Just the thought of having to ask Tim for a place to stay made his stomach churn. It was already his fault that Tim was involved in all this. Living with his would only make him a bigger target for attack. If something serious ever happened to Tim, Jay knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

"What's on your mind?" Tim asked as the door closed behind Jay. Was he really that easy to read?

"Just thinking about...stuff," Jay replied, trying to make it sound like it wasn't a big deal.

"That's dangerous," Tim differently replied though Jay knew he wanted him to continue.

"It's nothing to worry about," Jay offered as he took a seat on the couch beside Tim. Unfortunately for him, Tim wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily.

"Is this about the pregnancy test?" he asked, though it was obvious he was having a hard time keeping a straight face.

Jay couldn't keep himself from rolling his eyes. "No. This has nothing to do with that. I've just... I checked out of the hotel this morning, and I'm not sure where I'll be going next."

"You could stay here for a while if you need to," Tim responded as if it were the most obvious solution in the world. And really, it was. But it wasn't a /good/ solution.

"I can't stay here, Tim. I already got you involved in all this..." This what? How could he describe it? Chaos, he supposed, was a good description. "I don't want to keep messing things up. Maybe... Maybe if you're not around me, your life can return to normal." Jay wasn't sure if he believed it himself but maybe he could try to prove it. An unintentional sigh escaped his lips as he said, "I just need to talk to Alex soon. I think that'll help me figure some things out."

Tim visibly shifted at that statement. "You've been talking to Alex?"

“Well, not lately. He won’t answer my calls but expects me to answer his.”

“Jay, you need to stay away from him.”

“Tim, I know he’s different than he used to be - paranoid, even - but, I mean, who isn’t at this point?”

“Jay, you’re not getting it. He’s dangerous.”

“And you know this how?”

Tim didn’t respond immediately and when he finally did, he said, “I’m done talking about him.” With a feeling of finality accompanying that statement, Tim stood and disappeared down the hall. Jay listened absentmindedly as Tim pulled a pill bottle from the cabinet and shook out one (or two or three; Jay had no way of knowing for sure) pill then retreated to his room.  
Though Tim’s reaction wasn’t anything unusual - he had never been afraid of making his disdain for Alex quite clear - it still left Jay with the uneasy feeling that he was hiding something. The question was, what was there to hide? Wasn’t Tim on his side? It sure seemed that way. Though, if there was one thing Jay knew all too well, it was that looks could most definitely be deceiving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all, I don't even know where I'm going with this but it's fun as hell to write so I'll be writing more. Hopefully soon. Probably, considering I have a lot of homework to do... hahaha...


	13. endhim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to @creatorofalice on Wattpad for leaving kind comments and lovely feedback that inspired me. Because of them, I sat down and wrote five chapters, over 4,700 words, in one day for a story I haven't felt inspired to work on in months. Hope you enjoy!

If Tim's actions the day before had been suspicious, then the fact that he was completely missing the next morning was practically incriminating. With anyone else, perhaps, waking up to find your companion gone wouldn't be a cause for concern. But this was Tim and Jay. Disappearing without a word, although not abnormal, was still a red flag, especially now that they had decided to team up. However, as alarming as Tim's unexplained absence was, nothing in the house seemed to be out of place. Everything was left exactly as it should be which led Jay to believe that Tim had left by choice, not by force. If nothing else, that small detail seemed to ease Jay's mind.

After showering and eating breakfast - half of which he put in the fridge so Tim would have something to eat when he got back - Jay decided it was time to pick up where he had left off two days ago. Grabbing his medication for migraines, he took a seat at Tim's desk and booted up his laptop. Waiting for the computer's ancient hard drive to awake from its slumber, Jay spared a glance at the digital alarm clock beside Tim's bed. Though he knew he shouldn't be, he was still a little surprised to find that it was only a quarter to eight.

Spinning the chair back to face the window, Jay slumped down, mumbling a quiet, "It's gonna be a long day."

And, unsurprisingly, it was. After watching, rewatching, and analyzing for the thousandth time the tape Tim had shown him, Jay took a break by doing something simple: decoding the binary code that had been left in his wallet the previous day. With the help of his computer, cracking the code had been simple, but the revealed message was anything but. Scribbling the deciphered words on a piece of paper, Jay let out an annoyed groan.

"'He is lying'," Jay read the words aloud. "But who is 'he'?" The newest tape had said "You are a liar" but the message said "He is lying." Were the two implied people the same person? Or were two different people lying? Jay knew none of the specifics and therefore had no clue what to make of the message, though a troubling thought stuck with him. Tim's behaviour the day before had been slightly confusing and a little irritating, and though Jay didn't want to turn on Tim for something as simple as a shift in mood, he knew he had to consider every small change suspicious if he wanted to get any answers. The worst thing, in his opinion, would be to overlook some obvious sign that pointed to all the answers.

Around noontime, Jay finally took a break to have lunch and give his eyes a well deserved rest. Pulling the items necessary to make a sandwich out of the refrigerator, Jay began making a turkey sandwich. It was a simple process that he had repeated many times before but the ability to do it on autopilot was not something he appreciated. Without something to thoroughly occupy his attention, his mind continued to wander. He was becoming increasingly worried about Tim.

He knew it was silly to worry about him. Tim was an adult and he could come and go as he pleased. He didn't need permission. Perhaps Jay would have been less concerned if his car was missing as well. Instead, Tim and Jay's cars remained parked side by side outside. It was possible that Tim had gone for a walk but what kind of walk lasted this long? And why hadn't he at least left a note telling Jay he would be gone? Though, in all fairness, Jay hadn't left one for Tim when he had gone to retrieve his belongings from the hotel.

Wandering into the living room, Jay took a seat on the couch, plate in hand, and was about to take a bite of his sandwich when his phone rang. Pulling the device out of his pocket, Jay examined the screen. The number was blocked. /Of course the number's blocked,/ Jay sarcastically told himself. /It's probably Alex./ Hitting the green icon and putting the device on speaker phone, Jay held the device in front of his face. Before he could say anything, an automated woman's voice, not unlike the one that would tell a caller to leave their message at the tone, began to speak.

In a monotone voice, the woman slowly said, "Zero one one zero zero one zero one zero one one zero one one one zero zero one one zero zero one zero zero zero one one zero one zero zero zero zero one one zero one zero zero one zero one one zero one one zero one." There was silence for a long moment before the voice began repeating the sequence of numbers. Scrambling for something to write on and with, Jay ran back to Tim's room and grabbed a sheet of paper and a pencil. When he returned, the voice was still reciting numbers. After another long pause, the sequence began again, this time with Jay copying the numbers down.

When the voice finally stopped, Jay thought the call was about to end. Suddenly, a different voice, an actual woman instead of a machine, quietly whispered, "Lead me to death." As soon as the words had passed her lips, the dial tone rung loud before the call ended altogether. Leaning his head back into the soft back of the couch, Jay sighed.

"So much for figuring things out."


	14. An Unfortunate Realization

By the time Jay had finished lunch, he had made up his mind to call Tim. The phone call had thrown off what little confidence he had that he was making progress and being alone again was beginning to get to him.

Setting the dirty plate in the sink, Jay fished his phone out of his pocket and dialed Tim's number. It rang once, then twice, then three times. Several rings later, the device went to voicemail. Dialing the number again, Jay impatiently waited for Tim to pick up. Again, it rang and rang. Another sound, however, was what caught Jay's attention. The sound of a phone ringing echoed down the hall. Following the sound to the end of the hall, Jay opened Tim's bedroom door. The room was in the same condition he had left it in but Jay noticed something he hadn't before. On Tim's nightstand was his phone. Jay wasn't sure if the item had been left behind on accident or on purpose but it didn't matter. The fact of the matter was that Jay had no way to contact Tim.

Groaning loudly, Jay sat down on the edge of the bed. /Where is he?/ Jay lamented. It was his fault, he supposed. He had allowed himself to be distracted and this was simply the price he had to pay. /Maybe if I take a nap, Tim will be back when I get up,/ Jay tried to reason to himself. That seemed logical enough. Tim had to be back by then, didn't he?

Kicking his shoes off, Jay laid back on the bed, tucking both arms under the pillow and facing the wall. Though his brain was still racing, eventually he was overcome by exhaustion and his eyes drifted closed.


	15. Just Put A Band-Aid On It

With the haze of sleep still clouding his mind, Jay rolled his stiff body over and cracked his eyes open. The room was shrouded in complete darkness, the only source of light being the dim orange glow of the numbers from the alarm clock. Though the time was two forty six in the morning, the time didn't matter. It could have been two forty six in the afternoon and Jay still would have felt sleep deprived. /Wait, 2:46 am? I guess I was more tired than I thought./

In the darkness, it was difficult to make out the figure standing in the doorway but when he did, Jay was quick to apologize.

"Sorry," Jay groaned out, his voice rough with sleep. "You should have told me to move." Pushing himself up and swinging his legs over the side of the mattress, Jay rose to unsteady feet. His eyes hadn't completely adjusted to the dark so Jay felt toward the doorway with his hands. When they bumped into the man, Jay apologized again.

"Sorry Tim." Tim said nothing nor did he move to give Jay room to exit.

"Tim, move," Jay said, lightly pushing his shoulder in an attempt to move him enough so that he could squeeze through the doorway. Not only did he remain stationary, he remained silent as well. Pushing the palms of his hands into his eyes to rub the sleep from them, Jay huffed.

"Tim, why won't you-" His complaint died in his throat as he removed his hands, his eyes adjusted enough to the darkness to let him know that the man before him wasn't Tim. Backing away from him, Jay kept his eyes trained on the unpredictable stranger in the doorway as his knees hit the mattress and he fell back on it. For a long, uncomfortable moment, the man remained completely still. Even his chest seemed still. But that couldn't be. He still had to breathe. Right?

Pure fear was what kept Jay pinned in place on the mattress as the man finally moved. Unlike the other times they had met, the masked man slowly shuffled a single step forward before holding still again. /He seems uncomfortable,/ Jay thought, /like he needs something but can't ask for it./ Eyes fully adjusted to the dark, Jay slowly let his eyes drift over him, examining him for something, /anything/ that could hint to what he wanted. It didn't take long to find what he was looking for.

Just below the knee, his left leg was at a slightly odd angle. From the way he held himself, it was obvious he was favouring his right leg. Though the injury looked painful, it was hard to gauge exactly how painful it was, considering the man's face was hidden behind thin white plastic and the injury itself was hidden by the fabric of his jeans. Eyes finally landing back on the stranger's mask, Jay drew in a shaky breath.

Finding enough courage to speak, Jay mumbled a pathetic, "You're hurt." It was a dumb, obvious statement and Jay internally cringed at himself but the man seemed indifferent. Nothing about his appearance changed in the slightest to hint that he had even heard Jay, though Jay was sure he had. Even though it was too dark to see his eyes through the cutouts in the mask, Jay knew they were trained on him.

"Do you...?" Jay wasn't sure what to offer. He had never in a million years imagined that he would be stuck in such an absurd position. "Do you wanna go to the hospital?" In the silence, Jay could make out an almost inaudible huff behind the plastic.

"Okay, no hospital." Jay wasn't sure what else to offer. He only knew the most basic first aid and setting a broken bone wasn't among that knowledge. "Can I...?" Jay stopped again. Why was it so hard to talk to him? "Can I see it?"

At first, the man made no move to come closer. Jay was about to rethink what else to offer when the figure finally shifted. A slow step forward on his bad leg made it shake unsteadily before he quickly shifted back to his good leg. A few steps later, the man was sitting on the edge of the bed. As much space as possible remained between Jay and the man but Jay knew he would have to get closer to see the wound.

Reaching forward, Jay clicked the lamp on. With the sudden harsh light making him squint his eyes, Jay let them adjust before glancing back at the man. He hadn't moved an inch. Even though his injury left him incapacitated, Jay still expected him to lash out.

"I'm going to get some medical wrap," Jay said as he slowly exited the room.

In the bathroom, he opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out a plastic case with the words "First Aid" printed on it in red before returning to the bedroom. The man was exactly where Jay had left him.

As he slowly crept closer, Jay said, "I'm going to look at your leg," as he lowered himself to the rug and reached for the man's pant leg. Grabbing the hem of the material, Jay noticed the man's hands (which were resting at his sides) tighten into fists. With his heart pounding in his head, Jay's shaking hands began to fold the material back so he could see what he had to work with. Taking special care not to touch the man's skin as he rolled the material up, Jay didn't want to think what it would feel like to be punched in the side of his skull.

When the sleeve was rolled up high enough that Jay could finally see the injury, he took in a sharp breath. It looked painful to say the least. Though the bone hadn't broken the skin, it was still completely broken in half. The broken part of the lower half pushed the skin out, making the black bruise look all the more painful.

All attempts to sound professional went out the window the moment Jay uttered, "It, um, it needs to be set. I don't... I don't know how to do that." The frozen body in front of him suddenly moved and Jay fell back onto the carpet, afraid of being attacked because he could not provide adequate aid. Dumbfounded, Jay watched with wide eyes as the man's large hands reached down and pushed the bone into place, a sickening "crunch" accompanying the action. A low groan emitted from his throat as his hands returned to his sides.

Jay was speechless. A fully conscious man, without the aid of painkillers, had just pushed a severed bone back into place in front of his very eyes. After a moment of stunned silence, Jay recovered enough of his senses to reach for the medical kit that rested beside him on the rug. Lifting the lid, he grabbed the tan roll of medical wrap then turned back to the task at hand.

"Is it okay if I touch you?" Jay asked in a quiet voice, as if he would receive an answer. Receiving only a blank stare, Jay had to assume he was okay with it. Drawing in a sharp breath, trembling hands began wrapping the exposed skin of the masked man's leg. The higher he went, the tenser the man became. Not wanting to push his luck, Jay hurriedly finished the job then backed away. He had done a decent job but it was no cast. The man needed professional medical attention but Jay knew that nothing short of knocking him unconscious and dragging him to the hospital would get him there.

As soon as his leg was wrapped, the man stood up, testing out the bandage. When it didn't immediately fall off, he slowly began limping towards the door. Though Jay knew the injury must have been excruciating, the man carried himself as if he were simply walking on a slightly sprained ankle.

"Whoa, you can't walk on that," Jay stated. At hearing him speak, the man stopped, though he didn't turn to face him. "You need to stay off of it. For a while, actually." As the man turned toward him, Jay shrunk into himself. "I mean, that-that's what you should do. I can't make you." The man seemed to consider this before limping back toward the bed and resting on the edge.

"You can sleep here," Jay awkwardly added. But what else would he have said? "I know you're a stranger and you've attacked me on multiple occasions but I just bandaged your wound and I'm offering you a place to sleep so the least you can do is accept my generous offer"? Jay had no clue what rules of conduct still applied.

Taking the bottle of Ibuprofen out of the first aid kit, Jay set it on the nightstand beside the alarm clock. Ibuprofen wouldn't even begin to relieve the man's pain and Jay knew that but he didn't have anything stronger. He didn’t exactly keep prescription painkillers with him.

"I'll, uh, I'll get you some water." Awkwardly stumbling down the dark hallway, Jay felt his way into the kitchen and turned on the light. The fluorescent bulb momentarily blinded him as it buzzed to life, bathing the kitchen in its unnatural light. Jay hurriedly grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator before clicking the light off and hurrying back to Tim's room. Only then did it fully occur to him how utterly insane this all was.

Tim - the man who owned the house, was currently missing, and didn't have his phone with him - was going to come home and find a complete stranger, a dangerous stranger, in his bed. How was Jay supposed to explain or reason this to him? He had no clue.

Returning to Tim's bedroom, Jay found the man in the same position as before. It was obvious he had no idea how to act human. Perhaps that was what frightened Jay the most. Not that he didn't have a list of reasons. But humans could reason, they could relate and feel empathy. Losing those qualities essentially meant that he had lost what made him human.

"Uhm, here's your water," Jay said as he set the bottle of water beside the pill bottle. Jay stood for an uncomfortable moment before saying, "Okay, well, I'll be in the living room." He wasn't sure why he bothered talking to the man. He knew he wouldn't receive a response. Maybe the loneliness was getting to him faster than he had initially thought.

As Jay took a seat on the couch between the borrowed pillow and crumpled blanket, he hunched over and rested his head in his hands. What was he doing?


	16. Hospitality

Morning came with a few moments of blissful forgetfulness before the events that had taken place the night before returned full force, hitting Jay like a train. At first, Jay prayed that it had all been a vivid dream. He hadn't actually let a dangerous stranger into Tim's house and he definitely hadn't attended to his wounds before offering him a place to stay. Jay might not have been the smartest man but he was definitely smarter than that. Right?

Wrong. Unfortunately, it wasn't a dream, and Jay had, in fact, let a dangerous man into his friend's house. His first clue was the word written across the back of his left hand in thick letters: "BUYER". The second and most substantial clue came when Jay went to Tim's room to continue his analysis of the information he had gathered. Lightly turning the knob and entering the room, Jay's feet became frozen in place as he took in the sight of the man laying in Tim's bed.

None of his clothing had been removed; he remained in his tan jacket, dirty jeans, mud caked boots, and even his mask. Laying flat on his back, his arms laid limply at his sides, his damaged leg lightly propped up on a pillow. That small detail seemed odd to Jay, considering he hadn't seemed to care about the injury much. He wouldn't have even stayed if it weren't for Jay saying he should. Nevertheless, his leg was propped up on a pillow. At first glance, Jay wasn't sure if the man was asleep or if he was just remaining still like he normally did. Creeping closer, Jay peered into the holes of the mask to see the man's eyes. With the help of the light filtering through the blinds, Jay could see that his eyes were closed. His peaceful, deep breaths also led Jay to believe that he was still asleep.

Staring at what he could see of the stranger's face as he slept peacefully, Jay felt a surge of emotion that he couldn't quite place. His heart fluttered lightly and his hands shook slightly, but for once, it wasn't from fear. As Jay took notice of the empty water bottle on the nightstand, he decided to push the feelings aside. Emotions were not a part of totheark's game and feeling anything for him was dangerous (if not psychotic).

After grabbing a new bottle of water from the fridge, Jay returned to Tim's bedroom. The man was still asleep but he had shifted slightly. His right arm was tucked under his head and his left arm rested on his chest. It was the most relaxed and simply human that Jay had ever seen him act. However, with the new position, Jay noticed something he had missed before. Like Jay, the man had something written across the back of his left hand in thick, dark letters. The print was large enough that Jay didn't have to get any closer to read it. In a handwriting that matched the word on Jay's hand, the word "LIAR" was printed across the skin on the back of the man's hand.

Several things connected all at once. If this man was the liar, then he couldn't have been totheark. Totheark was looking for someone else, someone who would lead them to the ark. The ultimate questions were the ones Jay wanted to know the most: Was he lying to Jay, totheark, Alex, Tim, or someone else entirely? Was he working with totheark? Would this masked liar lead totheark to what they wanted or would someone else? Another frightening thought occurred to him as he stared at the sleeping man. If both of them had a word on their hand, then a third person had broken in last night. Totheark had been there, Jay had no doubt about that now.

Jay was jolted from his spiraling thoughts when the water bottle slipped from his grasp and landed on the carpet with a muffled "thud". The soft sound was enough for the man to jolt up, immediately alert of his surroundings. The feel of human that he had held while sleeping had disappeared the second he awoke. His fists rested in his lap and his tense muscles were back to remaining disturbingly still. With his stare boring holes into Jay's head, Jay stooped down and picked up the bottle.

"Sorry. I-I didn't mean to wake you. I... got you some water," Jay lamely said as he placed the bottle on the nightstand. "Do you... uh, want something to eat? Or something?" Per usual, the man stared intently at him but offered no response. "Okay, well, I'm going to make a sandwich. Or something. I'll... make you one too."

Jay returned to the kitchen to make sandwiches and when he returned to the bedroom, the man was nowhere to be seen. The bottle of water as well as the bottle of Ibuprofen were missing; the only sign of his exit was the blinds gently swinging in the wind that flowed through the now open window. Jay didn't even want to think about the excruciating pain that would come from climbing from the second story on a broken leg. On the bright side, Jay would no longer have to explain to Tim why a stranger was in his bed.


	17. You Are You, But Who Are You?

To add extra confusion to an already confusing situation, the next time Jay looked out the window to the porch, Tim's car was missing. Had someone stolen it? He hadn't heard anyone break in and the car horn hadn't gone off. But why would Tim return and not come inside? Why would he take his car but not bother to tell Jay why he was gone in the first place? None of it made sense and, though Jay had thought he was used to things making no sense, he had been proven wrong several times in just the last twenty four hours.

Sitting on the couch with his laptop in his lap, Jay tried several times to concentrate on the task at hand. An hour passed and then another and Jay hadn't accomplished a single thing. Several times he considered taking a walk just to get his mind going but every time he decided against it. He didn't want to be absent if the masked man or Tim returned. No, not if. When. Tim had to come back. This was his place, after all. Jay was staying with /him/, not the other way around.

Hours passed with nothing to show for it. For most of the day, Jay sat around doing nothing. When the loneliness and silence became too much to bare, he turned the volume up on his phone and let music play as he went about straightening the already straightened house. Anything that could be organized in any way was. By the time the sun began to set, Jay was out of things to organize. It was at that moment that he heard the most wonderful sound in the world.

"Jay?" Tim called from the living room, his voice thick with exhaustion. Jay sprung up from his place on the floor of Tim's room and sprinted down the hall, stopping when he reached the end. Surprise, horror, and confusion. Those were the only words that adequately described what Jay felt, though his stomach was twisted in knots of many other emotions.

Standing at the end of the couch, the door closed behind him, was Tim. His left leg was in a black cast from just above the knee to his foot, effectively keeping the leg stationary. Under each arm was a metal crutch; judging by Tim's white knuckles, Jay assumed he was gripping them tightly. Shifting on his good leg to face Jay, Tim opened his mouth to say something before shutting it. The two stood staring at each other intently, Jay's phone playing a vaguely familiar song in the background.

"What happened?" Jay asked, his voice small, dreading Tim's answer. This in and of itself was irrefutable proof that Tim and the masked man were the same, yet Jay stubbornly refused to listen to reason.

Hunched over, hands tightly gripping the handles of the crutches, Tim looked like the definition of exhaustion. He had looked normal before he left but now, he simply looked bone tired and defeated. Tim opened his mouth to answer the question but after a moment, he closed it. Breathing heavily through his nose, his jaw clenched as his eyes glanced up at the ceiling. When his gaze finally returned to Jay, his eyes were glassy with unshed tears. The pain in his eyes - physical and emotional - was what scared Jay the most. Tim was the strong one. If Tim couldn't do this, Jay knew he didn't stand a chance.

Staring intently at Jay, Tim finally whispered, "I don't..." He cleared his throat and blinked a few times, willing the tears away. "I don't know," he said in a plain tone. His shoulders hunched forward in a shrug. "I don't know Jay. I woke up in the back of my car with a broken leg and this." As Tim held out his left hand, Jay moved closer to get a better look. A very familiar word was printed on his hand in black sharpie. Holding up his own hand, Jay presented the word he had been chosen to bare.

The two stood for a moment, no words passing between them, before Tim began to chuckle. There was no mirth or happiness in the sound. It was devoid of anything except anger, exhaustion, and loathing. Judging by the way he carried himself, self loathing. The sound died in his throat as he suddenly lifted his head to stare at Jay. Eyes zeroed in on his roommate, Tim - aided by crutches - limped closer until he was nearly chest to chest with Jay. Nothing was said as Tim rested his forehead against Jay's shoulder, his eyes slipping closed.

For a moment, Jay was frozen. The emotions he had felt earlier that morning returned, this time clouded with sadness. His heart picked up its pace and with Tim practically pressed against his chest, he was sure the other man could feel it. If he did though, he didn't comment.

"I think you're right," Tim finally said after a long moment had passed.

"About what?" Jay quietly asked.

"If I had to describe my life in one word, it would be 'powerless'."


	18. Frustration And An Expletive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to combine chapter 18 and 19 together but then I'd have to include a time skip and I didn't want to. (I frustrate myself.) And though this chapter is super short and gives off an angsty vibe, the next chapter won't be solid angst. There'll be happy times ahead. So hang in there. (I need more happy fics 'cause I'm a very sad person.)

"You should eat something. You look really pale," Jay commented as Tim lifted his injured leg onto the mattress.

"Of course I look pale. I haven't eaten since god-knows-when and I feel like total shit, Jay."

Jay took that as his cue to get the other man something to eat. If he'd been fed at the hospital - which he more than likely hadn't - he'd probably still be hungry. After all, hospital food wasn't exactly a five star meal. Rummaging through the fridge, Jay discovered the food he had put aside from his breakfast days ago. It hadn't gone bad, but Jay assumed Tim would want something a little fresher and settled on making him some scrambled eggs and a few pieces of toast. As soon as the food had been prepared, Jay set it on a plate and hurried back to Tim's room.

The injured man had removed a large portion of his clothes. His pants and jacket were missing, leaving him in his boxers and a grey t-shirt. He was laid back on the bed, his arm under his head, his left leg propped up on a pillow, and his eyes closed; upon first seeing the position Tim was in, Jay's thoughts immediately reminded him of how similar he looked to the masked man before he remembered that they were the same person.

"Hey, I brought you food," Jay said as he took a seat on the edge of the mattress, nudging Tim with his elbow. The other man gave a groan and started to roll over but quickly stopped with a wince.

"Are you okay?" Jay asked as Tim sat up slowly, taking the plate from him once he was fully upright.

"As okay as I can be given the circumstances," Tim dismally replied as Jay handed him the fork and he began to eat.

Jay thought his words over before asking, "So... Not at all?"

The two locked eyes as Tim replied around a bite of food, "Not even close."


	19. Define "Normal"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longest chapter yet because I really need to start writing more for this story
> 
> Also, this chapter contains something I like to call “the beginnings of fluff if you squint really hard”.

Even before breaking his leg, Tim had never been the kind of person who was easily excited, happy, or open with his emotions, but after the accident, it seemed to Jay that things were getting worse for him. For nearly a week, Tim did nothing but lay around. On the one hand, Jay was grateful for it. With Tim laying down, he could get work done while knowing that Tim was slowly beginning the recovery process. On the other hand, the little spark that had once been present in his companion seemed to be burning out.

"Do you want to do something today?" Jay asked, turning from his laptop screen to Tim who was still in bed. Without glancing at him, Tim shrugged and turned to lay on his side as best he could. Truthfully, Jay didn't have enough funds to be spending on unnecessary things, and with Tim being fired from his job because of his poor attendance, neither did Tim. Nevertheless, Jay knew he had to do something to engage the other. He couldn't just let Tim lie around for months while he waited on his leg to heal.

"How about we go to the store? I've been meaning to go shopping and I know you must be tired of laying around here."

Tim gave another indifferent shrug but finally looked at Jay. /Making progress,/ Jay thought as he shut down his computer and stood up, stretching his legs after hours of remaining stationary.

Tim wasn't exactly thrilled to be leaving the house but he didn't put up a fight either which was as close to consent as Jay was going to get. After carefully helping Tim down the porch steps and into the car, stuffing his crutches into the backseat, the two were on their way to the store.

"When do you go back to the doctor?" Jay asked as Tim fiddled with the stereo, trying to find a station that was playing music.

"I don't," Tim replied, eyes focused on the small digital display.

"What do you mean? They're going to have to check your leg. I know it was broken pretty badly."

"How would you know how badly it was broken?" Tim asked, his voice guarded as his eyes finally lifted to stare at Jay.

Jay began to internally panic. Should he come clean and tell Tim that he had another personality? Would he be angry at Jay for keeping this from him? There were too many unknowns for Jay's liking but he quickly decided that being honest would be best. He didn't want Tim to get upset and then abandon him. Besides not wanting to be alone again, he knew Tim needed him too, especially since he had been injured.

"I don't," Jay finally confessed. "You showed up at the house after you'd been missing all day, but it wasn't you. You..." Jay sighed. "You had on a mask and you wouldn't speak. It was obvious that it wasn't you. I didn't even realize it was you until you appeared on crutches and I was forced to make the connection. But I don't know what happened. I fell asleep and when I woke up, you --er, him, I suppose, he was there." Jay wasn't sure if he should refer to the masked man as Tim or not. The man technically was Tim, but he most definitely didn't act like Tim.

"Your leg had already been broken then. I bandaged it as best as I could and let him sleep it off but he disappeared the next morning. Your car went missing a few hours later and when it returned, so did you."

Partway through Jay's explanation, Tim's gaze had shifted from the man to stare out the window. Jay couldn't tell if he had been listening or not, but he sincerely hoped so. He didn't want to have to repeat himself.

"Damn it," Tim quietly mumbled toward the window. Jay waited in patient silence, eyes focused on the road as they neared their destination, until another thought occurred to him.

"You already knew? That you had another personality or something?" Jay asked. Tim gave a simple nod; unfortunately for Jay, Tim never offered anything more, so Jay decided it was time they discuss what had led them to the topic in the first place.

"So why aren't you going back to the doctor?" he gently prodded.

"Doctors cost money," Tim indifferently said. "Money that I don't have. They told me that I needed surgery but once they saw that I didn't have insurance, they bandaged me up and sent me home."

"You need surgery?" Jay incredulously asked. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It's not exactly like you've got any money to spare, Jay. Especially not enough for this. And even if you did, I wouldn't ask you for it. You know that."

"Tim, your leg is broken. It needs to be fixed properly or it'll never heal right. I could have found you a way to get the money. I still can. How much will it cost?" Jay was glancing at Tim every few seconds, trying to devote as much attention to him as possible while still driving the car.

"Jay, stop. You know you can't get enough to pay for it. It'll heal eventually." Before Jay could argue, Tim gave him a stern look and in an authoritative tone said, "Drop it, Merrick."

The remainder of the drive to the store was a quiet one. Every so often, Jay snuck glances at the other man, but he was always staring out the window, lost in thought. When Jay finally pulled into a parking space Tim was finally looking at him.

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm just..." Tim ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "I haven't felt like myself lately, especially since /this/ happened." He gestured toward his cast while keeping his gaze on Jay. "Can we just... just try to move past this? Please?"

Jay nodded.

"Good." Tim closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, he looked far more than exhausted but the light had returned to his eyes. It was still dim, but Jay knew that he was closer to getting back the man he cared for.

"Did you make a grocery list?" Tim asked, a small smile appearing on his face. The shock of finally seeing Tim smile meant it took a few moments before Jay realized he'd been asked a question.

"Did what?"

"Did you make a list? For groceries."

"Oh. Uh, no, not really. I didn't really think you'd agree to come."

Tim chuckled. "You didn't plan on going to the store anyway? You just wanted to get me out of the house, right?"

Caught.

"Uhm, yeah, actually," Jay admitted, receiving another chuckle.

"I guess we'll just have to figure it out as we go."

The two exited the vehicle, Tim fumbling for his crutches before Jay offered another idea. After disappearing into the store for a few moments, he quickly returned with a simple wheelchair, an adjustable basket attached to the front.

"They didn't have any motorized ones," Jay explained as he held the chair in place while Tim shifted on his good leg to stand up. After Jay had lifted the basket, Tim sat down and adjusted himself until he was comfortable.

"I wouldn't have been comfortable with one anyway," Tim simply said as he began rolling the wheels, Jay closing the car door behind him. Jay understood what he meant. Tim had never been one to enjoy excessive attention and that was exactly what he would have received had he been in a motorized wheelchair.

Jay offered to push Tim around but the offer was quickly shot down with Tim's statement of "I already feel like a big enough burden, so just let me do this." Jay didn't argue and for that, Tim was grateful. He did, however, let Jay adjust the foot rests so that his feet wouldn't drag the ground.

Inside the store, the two wandered up and down the aisles, grabbing the things they needed most and setting them in the basket in front of Tim. Several items later, the basket was full and a twenty four pack of water rested in Tim's lap; the two decided it was time to head home so they made their way to the front to pay for their items. Jay helped Tim unload all of the items onto the counter before pulling out his wallet.

"Did you find everything okay today?" the friendly cashier asked. Unlike all of the other overly friendly people Jay had been forced to speak to, this woman seemed to be genuine. Whether or not she was didn't matter though.

"Yeah," Jay lamely replied as she began scanning the items, immediately placing them in grocery bags. As Tim wheeled closer, the woman seemed to take notice of him. She was either wearing heels or simply tall because she could easily see over the register to the dark cast on Tim's leg.

"I'm sorry," she said, her tone matching her words. "Did you break it?"

Tim gave an indifferent shrug but nodded.

"I've been there. That really sucks. I hope you start feeling better."

Tim gave a simple "Thanks" as the woman finished ringing up the items. As she read the total aloud, Jay internally cringed. He was a few dollars short; some items would need to be put back.

"I don't have enough," he quietly said to Tim before turning back to the lady. "Could you take something off? Uhm, the mayonnaise will be fine."

"I'll cover it," the woman offered and before Jay could deny her generous offer, she was pulling out her wallet and placing a few dollar bills into the register, reading off the new total. Though Jay wasn't entirely comfortable with a stranger paying part of his bill, he still smiled and thanked her as he handed his money over. As the cashier began to place the money into the cash register, Jay grabbed the bags and set them in the basket, returning the case of water to Tim's lap. Once all of the grocery bags were loaded, the woman handed the receipt to Jay, glancing over at Tim then back at Jay.

"You guys make a cute couple," she said before turning her attention to the next person in line. The comment was a simple one and, if Jay had been able to look at Tim and himself from someone else's perspective, he was sure that they would have looked like a couple, but he'd be lying if he said that the offhanded comment didn't set his mind racing.

The words hadn't been spoken loudly but he knew that Tim must have heard them. There was no way he couldn't have. Was he angry at the statement? Or was he simply indifferent? Had he even heard the comment? Jay was almost positive that he had, but he hadn't bothered to correct her. Did he not mind the implication that they were together? Did he want them to be together? Perhaps the oddest thing though was that Tim didn't seem upset. In fact, he didn't seem... well, anything. It was as if he simply hadn't heard the remark.

At that, Jay became convinced that he hadn't heard and a small part of him felt disappointed. It wasn't about whether or not he cared; he simply hadn't heard her.

Once the two reached the car, Tim helped Jay load the groceries into the backseat beside the metal crutches before Jay helped him back into the passenger's seat. As Tim got comfortable - as comfortable as he could, that is - Jay returned the wheelchair to the store. With everything put in its proper place, Jay returned to his car, buckled up, and started the engine. As he shifted the car into reverse, a warm hand came up to his on the steering wheel. Jay's eyes shot to Tim's face.

"Thanks," Tim quietly said.

"For what?" Jay asked, grateful his voice hadn't decided to betray him and show just how much the small act of physical contact affected him.

"For not making it a big deal."

So Tim had heard, he just hadn't wanted to say anything. In that moment, Jay felt like the biggest idiot. Why had he assumed that Tim might be even slightly interested in him?

Forcing a smile, Jay was about to reply with, "It's not a big deal," when, instead, Tim said, "I hated having to use that stupid wheelchair and being asked questions about my leg, so thank you. Ya know, for just not trying to over-explain it or something."

Wait, he was thanking Jay...for not making a big deal about using the wheelchair?

"Oh, uh, you're welcome."

Tim's thumb gently rubbed over the back of Jay's hand before he removed his hand altogether, resting both of them in his lap.

"I think it's time for a nap," Tim said with a yawn, drawing a laugh from Jay.

As he began backing the car out of the parking space, Jay replied with, "That sounds like a great idea."


	20. Return To Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter so I can get back into the habit of writing for this story.
> 
> I'm sorry it's been over a month since my last update. I've been working on my other main story and I haven't felt much motivation to write for this fandom lately. That doesn't mean I'm out of the fandom - far from it. I just fandom jump a lot between the few fandoms I enjoy and I haven't come around to this one in a while.
> 
> I started this chapter at the beginning of February but it's been sitting since then. I honestly wasn't sure where I was going to go with this and got a little stuck but something finally hit me and I have a better idea of what's going to happen next. So hopefully updates will be more frequent.
> 
> Anyway, here we go. Thanks for the kudos in my much too long absence.

By the time Jay had helped Tim into his room, both of the men were dead tired. As soon as Tim's head had hit the pillow, his soft snores had made Jay aware of exactly how tired the man was. Even though he meant to make his way back out to the couch before falling asleep, Jay had already nodded off, sitting on the edge of Tim's mattress beside his sleeping companion.

The sound of a loud crash jolted Jay out of his deep sleep. His back ached from being hunched over the edge of the mattress for hours but that was the least of his concerns. Jay's head whipped around but in the darkness, it was difficult to see much of anything. Thin fingers searched the mattress in a flurry but came up empty. Tim was missing again.  
Jumping up from the mattress, Jay rushed for the living room where the commotion was. Eyes beginning to adjust to the darkness, Jay could make out the shape of two men tangled up on the carpet. The coffee table was knocked onto its side, the papers, water bottles, and cups that had been on its top consequently spread across the floor.

Jay had no idea what to do. Calling the police wasn't an option - it never was - because there was no way to explain what was going on. At the same time, he couldn't just let Tim be attacked by the intruder, especially not with his current injury. Thankfully for him, he didn't have to make a decision. After watching the struggle for a few moments, the one man went limp, collapsing on top of Tim. With his eyes completely adjusted to the dark, Jay could see that the perturbing white mask was on Tim's face again. That could only mean trouble.

Rolling the unconscious body off of him, Tim - could he really call him Tim anymore? - quickly pushed himself up. It looked difficult and awkward with a cast encasing the majority of his left leg but he managed. With nearly all of his weight on his right leg, Tim weakly limped into the kitchen, returning seconds later with a kitchen chair. Snapping his head up, he pointed at Jay then the unconscious man on the floor and finally the chair. Jay understood and began to maneuver the body so that it was sitting upright in the chair.

A tap on his shoulder startled him and he whipped his head around to find Tim standing above him with a length of rope. Jay had no idea where he had gotten such an item so fast but he supposed it didn't really matter. Taking the rope, Jay began to awkwardly tie the man to the chair, starting with his ankles and moving upward. The task would have been a little easier to accomplish if the light had been on but Tim made no move to turn it on and Jay felt it was best if he didn't.

With the man finally secured to the chair, Jay finally sat back on the coffee table to look at him. Face concealed and masked face tilted down, Jay still had no idea what his true identity was, but he still knew who the man was.

Totheark. Well, if he could call him that. He was the hooded stranger who seemed to be Tim's alter's accomplice. However, if Tim had just knocked him out and had him tied to a chair, Jay knew he would have to rethink that evaluation. That task could wait though.

After checking to make sure the knots securing the hooded man were secure, Tim took a seat on the opposite end of the coffee table, stretching his injured leg out in front of him. Jay wasn't sure if he was being at least a little careful of his injury because of the pain or because Jay had told him before that he should let it rest and heal but either way, Jay felt like he had won a little victory.  
Casting several glances at Tim's masked face, Jay realized that he had no clue what was going to happen when the hooded stranger awoke. He had never heard either of them speak, so it seemed unlikely that they would have a conversation, especially in front of Jay. Then again, neither seemed quite like the type to jump to violence without a good reason, not extreme violence, anyway.

Breathing a deep sigh through his nose, Jay rubbed his temples, willing the headache he was beginning to get to ease. Sitting in the dark living room, the two men were left to play the waiting game.


	21. ᴩᴚᴓᴛⱻᴐᴛ ᴀπк

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully the title isn't too difficult to read but in case it is, this chapter is called "Protect Ark"

The blow to the head the hooded man had received must have been intense because he was out cold for over an hour. That entire time, Tim and Jay sat silently on the coffee table and waited.

Jay's mind was running a mile a minute. Why was Tim just sitting there? Was he lost in thought? Why hadn't he removed the other's mask? Did he already know who the hooded cryptic really was? Were they on the same side or not? Probably not, Jay figured, considering that they had been fighting and one of them was knocked out and tied to a chair.

The restrained man's head slowly shifted to the side and a quiet breath was muffled by the black mask. As he slowly began to regain consciousness, his muscles tensed, pulling against the rope that held him. Once he was fully awake, his head snapped up, the eyes on the mask drilling holes in Jay and destroying what little confidence he had over the situation before he turned his head to look at his former accomplice. The frown on the mask seemed even more disapproving than before.

The hooded one pulled against his restraints and the masked one shook his head. A quiet huff left the other's mouth and he nodded his head toward Jay then Tim who simply shook his head again. A rough hand reached down to tap the edge of his cast before he tapped the edge of his mask once then twisted his fingers. A sense of realization seemed to dawn on the hooded cryptic but it was fleeting. The dark eyes of the mask became trained on Jay and the rest of Tim's gestures went unnoticed. Becoming fed up with the cryptic's inattentiveness, the masked man stood up, awkwardly limping forward so that he was directly in front of the other.

The tension in the room shifted as Tim leaned down, a hand tightly gripping the hooded man's shoulder so he wouldn't topple over. With their masked faces mere inches apart, Tim leaned down and pressed his thumb into the covered skin of the other's thigh. The cryptic's shoulders relaxed and he held perfectly still as symbols were traced into his body. Jay watched with rapt attention and thought he saw the letter "T" but it could have been a "+" sign or something else entirely. When Tim's hand stilled, the hooded one tilted his head to the side. Simultaneously, the two shared a glance back at Jay before focusing on each other again. As more symbols were written across the restrained man's jeans, Jay felt a hint of emotion he hadn't felt in a long time.

Jay was jealous.

He knew he shouldn't be. Tim wasn't really the one pressing his thumb into the covered skin of another man's thigh and he wasn't holding tightly onto that man's shoulder, but at the same time, that was exactly what he was doing. Even if he hadn't switched consciousness with his alter, Tim wasn't Jay's to be jealous over. He truly had no right - or much of a reason - to be jealous but that didn't seem to matter. Watching how his face was trained on his accomplice and his thumb pressed quick symbols into the fabric of his jeans, Jay faintly wished he were the one in that position. Of course, he didn't want to have an alternate personality or be tied to a chair, but imagining how it must have felt to have Tim's hands gently but firmly holding and touching him had his mind wandering and he had to reel himself in before things got out of hand.

His attention was forced back to the two cryptics as Tim began to untie the rope that held the stranger hostage. Jay wasn't exactly comfortable with that but he figured it would be best to trust Tim's alter's judgement. He hadn't tried to hurt him yet so Jay had cause to believe that they were on the same side.

Once untied, the hooded stranger sat up straighter in the chair, stretching his arms out in front of him before lightly rubbing his wrists. Tim pushed himself up from his place on the carpet and hobbled back to the coffee table. (Now that Jay thought about it, when had the table been righted from its previous position on its side?) With his hands free, the uninvited stranger leaned forward so he sat on the edge of his chair and pressed his finger into the exposed skin of Tim's forearm, tracing shapes into his skin like Tim had done to him.

Several minutes passed with the two engaged in silent conversation while Jay simply watched. It was awkward for him at first, but the longer he watched the two converse, the more he realized how deep their connection was. It seemed strange, being able to communicate with little or no words - none spoken, at least - and mostly gestures but the two got along just fine. Jay had to wonder how long the two had known each other and how long it had taken to refine their system of transmitting ideas.

Tilting his head to the side, the interloper pointed to his chest where his heart was then leaned forward and did the same to Tim's chest. As Tim took the other's hand and used it to trace something against his black t-shirt, Jay's jealousy flared. Why was he feeling like this toward him? If there was an emotion he should be feeling, it should be fear. It was one thing when Tim was the one in control of his body but it was something else entirely when his orphic personality was in control. The two were complete opposites in the most extreme ways and Jay immediately felt guilty for feeling something for Tim /and/ his other personality. Regardless, the jealousy coursing through him was stronger than ever and his heart sank when the two looked over at him as if they had forgotten he was there.

Sliding over on the edge of the coffee table, a masked Tim approached Jay before turning his body to face him. Jay was wary of the hooded stranger who had moved to sit on Tim's other side until a warm finger was pressed against his chest just like the two had done moments ago. Jay's mind went completely blank and his heart jumped in a mix of fear and excitement at the touch; he gaped for a moment before he realized that Tim was trying to tell him something.

"But I thought..." Jay began before trailing off, his voice shaking slightly, watching as Tim shook his head just barely. Removing his hand from Jay's chest, Tim's alter instead moved his hand to Jay's bare arm before tracing a shape into his skin. If Jay wasn't mistaken, it was the letter "U". The lack of explanation left Jay's mind reeling, a hundred different interpretations of the gesture popping into his head one after another.

A warm hand rested on Jay's wrist as its owner turned to face the third member of their party. Jay leaned forward enough to see the hooded man spell out something against Tim's thigh above his cast then stand up, staring long and hard at Jay before fleeing out the front door. How he moved without making a single sound was impressive and only added to the element of danger that surrounded him.

Left with only Tim's other personality and a million questions, one thought finally occurred to Jay. He had forgotten to grab his camera.


	22. Why Is Everything So Hard?

When Jay awoke the next morning, his head throbbed with a splitting headache. Rolling onto his left side, he nearly came out of his skin as he came face to face with Tim. Jolting back, Jay immediately began trying to think of what had happened the night before. He remembered hearing a loud crash and running out into the living room but he had to focus his thoughts to come up with what had happened afterwards.

A man in a hood... He had shown up. Tim had talked to him - though little talking was actually involved - and after discussing something, the hooded man had left. Tim's alternate personality had done something too. There was something he had tried to tell Jay, though Jay wasn't sure he had fully understood the meanings behind the gesture.

Once the two had been left alone, Tim had sat motionless for nearly an hour. Jay could only assume he was thinking about something, considering he didn’t even react when Jay talked to him or gathered up his courage to touch him. After taking some Ibuprofen to soothe his aching back, Jay had laid down on Tim’s bed. With his alter in control and preoccupied, it didn’t seem like Tim would need the bed for the night.

Jay’s eyes fluttered and eventually closed, opening what felt like moments later to find Tim standing beside the bed and staring at him. Half asleep, Jay jerked up, hunching over and rubbing his eyes.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “I’ll go sleep on the couch.”

Before he could get up, the bed space in front of him dipped with the extra weight of another person. Though he had just been asleep, Jay was instantly more awake than ever. Still dressed in his jeans and t-shirt, Tim slowly laid back, propping his foot up on the pillow that remained at the foot of the bed.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to…” Jay trailed off as a hand was set on top of his. Laying on his side, Jay stared wide-eyed at the man laying on his back beside him. Tim didn’t even look at him, acknowledging him only by awkwardly hooking one of his fingers around one of Jay’s.

“Here,” Jay said as he maneuvered their hands so that their fingers were laced, his heart racing. It seemed Tim was perfectly fine with touching his accomplice, especially since that was their form of communication. However, when it came to unnecessary, expressive physical contact, “Tim” was completely lost. That would make sense, Jay decided, considering Jay was the only non-cryptic person he had to converse with and, as far as Jay could tell, share his affection with. Nevertheless, Jay knew it was wrong to do such a thing without Tim’s true consent, but his alter was consenting and that was what really mattered at the moment.

The two laid in absolute silence for several minutes but Jay found sleep hard to come by. Maybe it was because Tim was still wearing the mask, or maybe it was because they were touching in a purposeful way. Regardless of the reason, he knew he wouldn’t be falling back to sleep easily.

After several long moments of thinking over his next sentence, Jay finally said, “You know, you can take your mask off. If that’ll help you sleep.”  
Tim’s previously relaxed hand tensed up at the suggestion.

“I already know who you are,” Jay blurted, not sure if that was the right thing to say. When he wasn’t immediately attacked, he added, “That doesn’t… Change anything? I guess?”  
No response.

Jay let out an annoyed chuckle. “I’m not really sure what to say.”

The body beside him turned just enough so that he could see the eyes behind the plastic mask staring at him. Finally, a hand came up and removed the mask before carefully setting it on the bedside table. When Tim turned back to Jay, the cameraman felt a sense of relieved confusion.

He knew Tim and the masked man were the same person, but when he took the mask off, Jay still expected to see someone else. As if, perhaps, Tim had disappeared. Of course, Tim had disappeared; his body was still there, but he himself was temporarily out of commission. Seeing Tim’s face blank without the sparkle of recognition or the usual sarcastic nature he held was a harsh reminder and Jay felt tears sting the back of his eyes and a lump form in his throat. Still, he forced a small smile.

“Is that better?” Jay asked, his voice weak with barely restrained emotion.

Instead of receiving a nod or another symbol pressed into his skin, Tim’s eyes stared hard at Jay before a hand came up to push the hair in front of his eyes out of the way. Jay was caught off guard by the action and the tears in his eyes began to blur his vision. Clenching his jaw, the cameraman forced himself to withhold his emotions. He would not cry, not in front of Tim (or whoever he was at the moment) for such a dumb reason.

“You should get some rest,” Jay finally managed once he’d forced his voice to steady. Tim remained still for a moment longer before turning back so that he was staring at the ceiling. Jay watched as his eyes oh so slowly closed and his breathing began to level out. When Jay was sure Tim was asleep, he felt himself relax, his muscles slowly unclenching as his eyelids closed.

Squeezing the hand that still grasped his, Jay didn’t think about what he would say to Tim in the morning.


	23. I'm Not Quite Sure How To ‘Emotion’

Bright light radiating through the closed blinds was what finally awoke Jay. The light burned his eyes when he first opened them and he had to turn away until his eyes gradually adjusted. Once he could look around the room without his eyes hurting, Jay’s eyes immediately found something much more interesting than the blinds.

Laying beside him in the exact same position as the night before was Tim. His eyes were closed and his breathing was relaxed, his right arm laying across his stomach and his left arm at his side where their fingers were still laced.

Their fingers were laced.

They were holding hands.

Jay wasn’t sure what to do. He could continue to hold Tim’s hand and have to explain to him when he woke up why they were holding hands; he could also try to extricate his hand from Tim’s grip and hope the other didn’t wake up. Then he wouldn’t have to explain why they were sleeping in the same bed. Either way, with the bed pushed into the corner of the room, Jay knew he wouldn’t be able get out of the bed without Tim waking up. Considering they only fit on it together when they were pressed up close, there was really no way for Jay to explain it without Tim being entirely suspicious.

Unable to decide on a course of action, Jay ended up just lying there. Wide awake, Jay stared at Tim’s sleeping face and watched his chest rise and fall with every slow breath. Jay felt like he had been laying there for hours when Tim finally stirred. The fingers laced with his squeezed his hand gently and Tim’s head sleepily lolled to the side. When his eyes finally cracked open, his hazy eyes tried to focus on Jay.

“Morning, Jaybird,” he mumbled, his voice rough with sleep. Staring into his dark eyes, Jay remained silent. When had he been dubbed with an endearing nickname?

“Ya’alright?” Tim asked, his voice a little clearer than before as he slowly awoke. Jay coughed a little before nodding his head.

“Alright,” Tim replied with a slight smile before yawning, his head turning to the other side. The two laid together silently for a long time with Jay wondering when Tim was going to notice their hands. Finally, Tim pushed himself up unsteadily with his free hand.

“What happened last night?” he asked, staring intently at Jay.

Sitting up as well, Jay fumbled for the right words. “Uhm, well, we, uh, we had visitors.”

Tim groaned. “That’s never a good thing.”

Jay let out a breathless chuckle. “You’re telling me.”

“Wait, visitors? Plural?” Tim asked.

“Yeah. Well, kinda. You and someone else.”

“What happened?” Tim curiously asked before something else occurred to him. “Are you alright? You’re not hurt, are you?”

Both of Tim’s hands reached for Jay’s face, effectively pulling Jay’s hand with his. Peering down, Tim saw their fingers laced together. He was silent as he stared at their hands and Jay’s anxiety began to build. Would he get upset? Would he yell at him? The longer he was quiet, the more anxious Jay became. He was more than happy when Tim finally said something.

“I’m gonna guess that means you’re fine.”

Another moment of silence.

“What do you want for breakfast?”

“What, that’s it?” Jay incredulously asked. He had expected more of a reaction than that.

“Uhm, yeah?” Tim replied as he eased his legs over the edge of the bed, letting out a small groan of pain before reaching for his pill bottle on the nightstand.

“That can’t be all. Come on, say som-”

“Look, Jay,” Tim cut him off. “I don’t think I want to know, alright? Whatever’s going on, just fill me in on the important stuff.”

“This involves you too. How can you just not want to know?”

Tim seemed annoyed. “Fine. You want me to know? Tell me. Tell me exactly what’s going on.”

By then, their hands had let go of each other. Tim was sitting on the edge of the bed and Jay crawled over to sit beside him so he could properly see his face.

“I… I don’t know, Tim. We just, fell asleep holding hands.”

“Do you like him?” Tim nearly yelled.

“Yes!” Jay yelled back.

The two took a minute to calm down before they tried again. Yelling and getting agitated wouldn’t help their extremely odd situation.

"So you're telling me that you're dating my alternate personality?" Tim finally asked once he had calmed down.

"I wouldn’t call it ‘dating’. But, I mean, it's not like I planned for this to happen. It just kind of happened," Jay uneasily replied.

"What do you mean you 'don't know how it happened'?"

"Well it's not like he's very talkative," Jay said as he crossed his arms.

"You're dating someone you've never even had a conversation with?"

"I don't know! Maybe?"

Tim remained silent for a long moment as Jay’s anxiety shot through the roof before finally saying, "I’m not sure if I should be angry or jealous."

"Are you upset?" Jay timidly asked.

"Well I can't say I'm thrilled that you're dating me-but-not-me, especially without my consent," Tim said.

Though it wasn’t the ideal conversation, Jay had to admit that it was going surprisingly well. The one thing that surprised Jay the most was Tim’s reaction to the whole thing. Jay had expected him to get upset, to yell, to tell him he wasn’t gay and that it would never work between them. Instead, Tim only seemed upset that he hadn’t known about it before and, if Jay had heard him right, he might even be jealous.

Sitting on the edge of the bed and staring off into space, Tim sat quietly as he processed all Jay had said. Jay, sitting beside Tim, watched his face as he thought. He was tempted to ask Tim something, anything, just to gauge his reaction to the whole situation. However, Tim beat him to it.

"Jay?" Tim asked.

"Yeah?"

"Will you tell me about him?"

His other personality? What could Tim want to know about him? He had seen from the ample amount of footage captured what he was like. What was there new to tell?

"What do you want to know?"

"Is he good to you?"

Out of all the questions that could have been asked, that was not the question Jay had been expecting.

"Uhh... Yeah, I mean... Yeah, of course."

Tim sat in silence for a moment before his eyes met Jay’s. His usual sarcastic demeanor and tough, indifferent attitude seemed to crumble and he asked his next question with a great deal of insecurity.

"Do you think... Do you think I could be good to you?"

Jay was stunned into silence for several long seconds while Tim patiently stared at him, waiting for an answer. The question was asked so genuinely and with the way he was patiently waiting, Jay was forced to believe that he was being serious.

Staggered by the question, Jay fumbled for an answer. “Why would… I mean… Do you want to?”

“Would you let me?” Tim asked.

“I mean, I don’t see why you would want to,” Jay stubbornly replied.

“Jay, you’re avoiding the question,” Tim said, seeing right through him.

Jay sighed. “You’re serious? About this?”

“Jay, if you don’t want to date me, just say so. I’ll understand.” Tim let out a chuckle. “Hell, I wouldn’t even date me.”

“No, Tim, I want to date you. I just…” Jay thought over how to phrase his next words. He didn’t want to ask the question because he was afraid of what the answer would be but he knew that he would have to ask it anyway before he made a decision. “Do you want to date me because you actually want to date me? Or is this just about, ya know, the ‘other personality’ thing?”

Though still anxious, Tim seemed to regain a bit of his usual sarcastic personality.“Jay, you know me better than that. If I didn’t want to be your boyfriend, I wouldn’t have asked.”

/Your boyfriend/, Jay mentally repeated. Those two words drove home the topic of the conversation that he never thought he would have and Jay felt the smallest bit giddy. Tim wanted to be his boyfriend. /He wanted/ Tim to be his boyfriend.

“Okay,” Jay finally said, earning an insecure chuckle from Tim.

“Okay, what?” Tim asked.

“Okay, I want you to be my boyfriend,” Jay nervously confirmed. Tim had just told him that he wanted to date him and he was still unsure if he had been serious. He was fully expecting for the man to start laughing and throw it back in his face, call him “fag” or some other insult then tell him to get out of his house.

That was why Jay was surprised when Tim simply said, “Alright then,” and set his hand on Jay’s, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“There is one thing though,” Tim said, his serious gaze making Jay feel more nervous than before.

“Yeah?”

“You never did tell me what you want for breakfast.”

Jay instantly felt relieved, his nervousness bleeding out in the form of a laugh.

“Let’s go figure something out then.”


	24. -An Important Clarification-

This was going to be a note before the next chapter, but it’s long so I’m posting it separately.

There have been some questions about whether Tim has Dissociative Identity Disorder or if this is something else. Hopefully the next chapter helps to answer that question, but I’ll go ahead and explain how it works in my story so there’s no confusion.

Tim DOES NOT have DID.  
“Hoodie” DOES NOT have DID.

Both of them have been influenced by the Operator and their minds have been affected by it. While it might look like they have split personalities, that is not the case. I suppose you can say they’ve been affected “supernaturally”, though this isn’t quite what I’d call it.

I’ll use Tim as the example. When Tim “blacks out” and Masky takes over, Tim only recalls feeling asleep. Masky exists only as the Operator’s creation. He is like an empty shell of a puppet, but he has /some/ control over himself. Though the Operator created him for his own personal use, Masky has developed enough control and sentience to choose if he wants to follow. He understands that he is not a whole person who can live a normal life and he understands that, if the Operator were to be destroyed, he would be destroyed as well. He is the equivalent of an imaginary friend come to life; if the person who imagined him were to die, he would die along with them.

Masky CANNOT:  
*Exist without the Operator existing  
*Perform many cognitive functions such as speak, write clearly understandable words without great effort, string together functioning words to create a clearly legible thought without great effort, or express any emotion without confusion and/or assistance  
*Clearly understand emotions  
He’s similar to a robot in some aspects.

If you’re wondering about the second point and how that works with chapter 21 (Protect Ark) when the two were communicating, they were tracing letters, symbols, and other things against each other. Though this isn’t explicitly stated (it’s only described), Hoodie at one point taps his chest over his heart then does the same to Masky. No words are used because, without days of focusing their energy towards the project, they don’t explicitly have the function to create them quickly on command. In that scene in chapter 21, Hoodie was asking if Masky liked “him” (refering to Jay). Masky took Hoodie’s finger and drew the single letter “J” over his heart as his reply. He also tapped Jay over his heart and drew the letter “U” on his arm to convey the same thing to the cameraman.

(In this story,) Hoodie being totheark means he is the one creating the videos that Jay finds with the cryptic messages. These messages require a ridiculous amount of energy and concentration for him to string together coherent words without using other symbols or numbers.  
EXAMPLE:  
With literally an entire day spent focusing, Hoodie can produce a video with the message, “SO MUCH MORE THAN TIME HAS BEEN TAKEN”.  
He would prefer to use binary code or symbols or numbers, so putting these letters together and making a legible thought is difficult. His mind is infected and warped.  
Without concentrating and trying to string together words, he would be able to write something like “RAT HE ORE TOP” and “1122 3125 1920 15185 0”, things he understands clearly but that don’t make sense to others.

The way Tim and Jay refer to Masky in my story is not meant to be disrespectful or degrading. Masky was created from evil and, while he himself is not completely evil, he is still a being to be feared; he is still dangerous. He is not a sane, functioning adult as Tim is. He can't try to live a normal life because that's not what he was created for and he knows it. In some instances, he tries to understand emotion and other things, but he is not very successful. He doesn’t process anything he feels; he only acts on impulse and can’t worry about the consequences.

For example, in chapter 22 (Why Is Everything So Hard?) Masky awkwardly hooks his finger around one of Jay’s. He doesn’t understand quite why he’s experiencing the emotions he is and he only vaguely knows what the emotion itself is but he has no idea how to deal with it; he acts only on impulse and, really, just does what he wants.

He doesn’t care about being regarded as an actual, functioning adult. Really, he has more important things to worry about. Jay (and Tim, though he doesn’t actually know Tim) referring to him as “alternate personality”, “me-but-not-me”, “masked stranger/masked man”, “Tim’s alter”, etc. doesn’t offend him. Frankly, HE DOESN’T CARE. He is created with a purpose (whether or not he abandons that purpose is yet to be seen) and he really doesn’t give a shit how people refer to him.

That might seem harsh but it’s true.

Masky doesn’t care what people call him; he doesn’t really have a name and Jay’s the only person he interacts with besides Hoodie and you better believe that those two cryptics don’t actually talk or use names with each other.

This particular issue isn’t actually dealt with in Marble Hornets and we don’t know if Brian and Tim had DID. Some people headcanon that and THAT’S PERFECTLY FINE. Headcanons are cool and I’m not here to bash on that. How hypocritical would that be? 'Cause I've got loads of headcanons. All I’m saying is that this is my story and I’ll deal with it how I choose.

While the logic behind this might be confusing and complicated, it is a system that exists in this fic only. It is NOT canon, and it is NOT Dissociative Identity Disorder or any other real disorder. I would never make fun/light of any disorder or illness. That would be super shitty of me.

This is an important reminder that this is fiction. It’s not based off anything except Marble Hornets and doesn’t include anything intentionally offensive. If anything, I've tried my hardest to keep this from offending ANYONE. Having said that, after much contemplation, I have decided to continue referring to Masky as I have been so far. After reading this explanation, if this still makes you uncomfortable, it’s probably best to just stop reading now. My references to him aren’t meant to be disrespectful or anything and I think we all know that. If my story seems disrespectful, then I can only imagine that Marble Hornets seemed disrespectful as well because I’m trying to keep the characters as close to MH as possible. Every piece of dialogue I write, I imagine them saying and then decide whether or not that sounds like the character.

The next chapter is composed almost completely of dialogue between Tim and Jay discussing this and explaining it in a simpler way (because some of this is confusing, I get that).

Thanks for reading this super boring but necessary explanation, if you actually did.

(Hopefully I don't come off as too much of an asshole.)


	25. Do We Have To Talk About This?

“Hey Tim, can I ask you something?” Jay asked, pausing as he held the fork in his hand. The two men had decided on something for breakfast and Jay had prepared the food. Tim, not wanting to sit idly by, had poured their drinks and set the table.

“Yeah,” Tim replied, looking up from his plate.

Jay wasn’t sure if he should ask the question but he decided to do it anyway. “What’s it like? Having another personality?”

Tim sighed, setting his fork on the edge of his plate. “That’s not what this is, Jay. I used to think that might be it. I’ve read about people who seem to have the exact same problem, but it’s not that. I’ve been tested a hundred times and all the tests confirm what I already know: the only personality is me. This only started happening, God, it’s already been two years now. But you know it’s not just me, Jay. If this was something specific to only me, I would honestly believe that I might have Dissociative Identity Disorder. But it’s not just me. You can’t honestly think it’s a coincidence that, not only me, but someone else - God only knows who - has the same thing going on. The person in the hood? I’ve seen him on camera, Jay. I’ve seen the way he acts.”

“It’s just like how you act,” Jay blurted, immediately regretting his words. Tim was unfazed though.

“Precisely. And we’ve both seen how Alex has changed since all /this/ started. It’s obviously clear that, whatever that thing out there in the woods is, has changed us. He takes over our minds and turns us into puppets. Whatever he wants, we do.” Tim let out a chuckle, fiddling with his fork but not using it for its purpose. “I don’t know how you haven’t been affected by it yet, but I’m glad.”

Jay thought it over for a few seconds before agreeing. “Yeah, I agree with you. The chances of three people all having multiple personalities /and/ dealing with a ‘supernatural evil’ seems pretty low. It has to be the Operator’s influence.”

“Have you ever felt affected by it? Even a little?” Tim asked, suddenly serious.

“Like how?” Jay asked.

“Well sometimes I get a warning when something bad is about to happen. It’s like… You know how it sounds when the TV is on but it’s only static?”

Jay nodded.

“It’s like that, but the static just gets louder and louder until my head feels like it’s going to explode and I’m completely exhausted and then it just feels like going to sleep. I can’t see, hear, feel; I’m not conscious and I can’t remember anything. It’s exactly like sleep, but when I wake up, I’m stranded in the forest or my /leg is broken/.”

Before Tim could add anything, Jay said, “The static. Sometimes I can feel it.”

“Describe it,” Tim said, a look of concentration on his face.

“It’s like you said, the static on the TV,” Jay began, “but it starts as a low hum that I barely notice. Sometimes it stays like that for days, just at the back of my mind. But when I feel like I’m being watched or when I’m in the forest or when I /know/ that thing is near, the static gets louder until it’s all I can hear. I’ve had moments where I’ve blacked out, but I know that I kept moving. I’ve got video proof of what I’ve done but the memories are gone.”

Tim sat in quiet contemplation before Jay added, “But you’re wrong about one thing.”

“What?”

“You said he takes you over and turns you into puppets. Based on what I’ve seen on tape and what I can actually remember, that used to be true. For Alex, it might still be. But you and the other person, the one in the hood, you seem to be fighting against it.”

Tim seemed confused and slightly amazed. “What?”

“You used to be controlled by it, but you both seem to be trying to fight the influence now. Last night, you two were communicating without words and you were both calm and calculated. If you’d wanted to hurt me, you would have; but you didn’t. You seemed to be making a plan to do something.” Jay sighed. “I just wish I knew what.”

Jay and Tim continued eating their breakfast, but the cameraman could see a question forming in Tim’s eyes. Several silent moments passed before the injured man decided to speak up; he asked his question slowly, as if he wasn’t sure if the question was even plausible.

“Do you think that if we can actually beat this thing, our masked halves will disappear?”

Jay thought it over. “I think that’s possible, yeah. They seem to only be created for the Operator’s use. If we can destroy it, then the empty-yet-sentient halves of you guys will probably disappear too.”

Tim absentmindedly nodded, his gaze resting unfocused on his plate.

“I have another question though,” Jay said.

“Yeah?” Tim asked, forcing himself to look up from the table.

“When you’re not… Ya know, when it’s not you in control, I guess, what should I call you?”

“Honestly, I don’t really care,” Tim candidly replied. “The sooner we beat this thing, the sooner this will stop being an issue.”

“But, until then?”

“What would you call a puppet?” Tim sarcastically retorted.

“Its name,” Jay replied for lack of a better answer.

Tim chuckled. “Then I suppose you should figure that out.”


	26. This Is The Part Where We Run Away

“I’m running to the store to pick up something,” Jay told Tim as he picked up his keys from the desk beside his laptop. “I shouldn’t be gone but half an hour at most.”

“We went to the store yesterday,” Tim replied, looking up from the book he was reading. Something about seeing Tim relaxed on his bed with a book in his hand made Jay want to laugh but he didn’t know why.

“I know. There’s something I forgot though. Do you need anything while I’m there?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Alright, I’ll be back soon then.”

“‘Kay,” Tim absentmindedly replied as he went back to reading his book.

After getting in his car, Jay drove by the store and grabbed a bag full of oranges, dropping them into the passenger’s seat before heading toward Rosswood Park. He hated having to lie to Tim but he knew that his new boyfriend would never have allowed him to leave if he knew where he was actually going. Something continually pulled at the cameraman, compelling him to return to the park when he knew that there was nothing there for him - nothing good, at least.

After he had pulled into a parking space and made sure he had an extra blank tape in his pocket, Jay exited his vehicle and began following one of the trails back into the forest. Once he was inside the forest, he made sure to keep to the path, not wanting to get lost. After all, he had told Tim he wouldn’t be gone but half an hour. He still had nearly twenty minutes until he was due back - not enough time to search as thoroughly as he would have liked, but enough to look nonetheless.

With the sun overhead, the light filtered through the leaves, making his surroundings spotted in light and covered in shadows. Thankfully, the shadows weren’t significant and didn’t hinder his sight. Though the day was beautiful, Jay was glad he had brought his jacket. A light breeze blew, keeping him the perfect temperature as it shook the leaves of the trees.

A noise startled the man and he whipped around, camera in hand, only to find a bird rustling in the leaves. His heart had sped up incredibly and he heaved a sigh at the little animal. He shouldn’t be so jumpy, but the forest always had that effect on him, especially if he was alone or if it was after dark.

Entering a vaguely familiar clearing in the woods, Jay surveyed the area, his camera following his movements. Though he couldn’t see anything in the forest, something caught his ear: a sound, somewhere among the trees across from him, but the forest was too dense for him to see the source of the noise. It sounded exactly like thundering footsteps crushing leaves, a sound Jay was familiar with after having run through the forest countless times himself.

Bursting from the trees and into the clearing was a woman with pale skin and dark hair, someone Jay immediately recognized. As Jessica frantically ran, the panic was clear on her face and Jay’s stomach lurched. What was she doing in the middle of Rosswood? What was she running from? /What was going on?/

As the brunette crossed the clearing rapidly, Jay realized she was headed straight for him. By the time his mind registered that he should be moving, Jessica was crashing into him, taking them both to the ground.

Her arms flailed for a moment as she tried to scramble away before one of her hands came up and pushed the hair away from her face and she realized who she had run into.

“Jay?” she asked, her eyes wide. “What are you doing here?”

The two pushed themselves to their feet as Jay asked, “What are /you/ doing here?” His mind was running a thousand miles an hour and nothing made sense.

Her panic seemed to double and she looked over her shoulder before focusing back on the cameraman. “Alex is here. I think he kidnapped me. He had a gun.” Her voice shook with emotion and her eyes were glassy with tears that threatened to spill over any second. “I don’t know what’s going on,” she said, her voice cracking.

“We need to get out of here,” Jay said, looking over her shoulder to make sure they weren’t being followed. “Come on.”

Taking Jessica’s hand in his, the two began running along the path. As they retraced their steps and began to get closer to the parking lot, they heard quiet footsteps run up behind them. Jessica sped up, her fear pushing her forward while Jay began to slow a little. Even though he often ended up running through the woods, his endurance wasn’t exactly phenomenal.

Just as Jay slowed to a stop, bent over with one hand on his knee - the other occupied with his camera - and panting heavily, a hand landed on his shoulder. A bolt of terror shot through Jay as he nearly fell over, trying to turn to see who was behind him. Stumbling in place, Jay finally gained his balance and turned to see the masked face of the man in the lightly coloured hoodie. Jay wasn’t sure if that was necessarily a good thing or not but if their last encounter was much to go by, he was probably not dangerous; not to Jay, anyway. Either way, he’d much rather run into the hooded cryptic than Alex.

As he stood hunched over and catching his breath, Jay realized that the midsection of the man’s hoodie was covered in blood. The winded cameraman couldn’t tell if the blood was from a wound the man had incurred or from someone else but his stomach did a nervous flip anyway.

Grabbing Jay’s arm, the stranger tugged him forward. As they began moving again, Jay finally realized that Jessica was gone. Hopefully she had followed the path and made it back to his car. Jay wasn’t sure what he would do if she hadn’t.

Once the two had finally reached the end of the path and the parking lot was visible, Jay was relieved to see the woman standing beside his car. As the two men approached, her eyes grew wide again upon catching sight of the masked cryptic.

Before she could ask any questions, Jay was unlocking the doors and saying, “Get in.” Jessica seemed unsure of whether or not to trust him but she must have decided that taking her chances with Jay was preferable to being stuck in the forest with Alex because she got in the car. Three car doors slammed and Jay glanced in the rearview mirror to see the dark face of a mask looking back at him but he wasn’t about to question it. He guessed that everyone was trying to get away from Alex at this point.

Tossing his camera into the backseat beside the hooded man, Jay fished his keys out of his pocket quickly and started the car, backing out of the space so fast that he had to slam on the brakes before gunning it out of the parking lot.

“Are you alright?” Jay asked Jessica once they were a fair distance from the park. He was technically addressing both of his passengers but he knew better than to expect a response from the man in the backseat.

“No,” Jessica stated plainly.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know!” she nearly squealed in irritation and fear. “I just woke up in the forest and Alex was there. He said something about you and asked if I’d talked to you lately or knew where you were. When I told him no, he pointed a gun at me!”

With tears spilling over onto her cheeks, Jessica took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

“/He/ showed up,” she said, turning to glance at the third passenger, “and tackled Alex. I never heard the gun go off though.”

Glancing into the rearview mirror again, Jay saw the man shift before holding up a gun.

“You took it from him,” Jay stated, earning a small, curt nod in response.

“Did he hurt you?” Jessica dared to ask, turning in her seat to fully look at the stranger. She seemed uncomfortable around him which was to be expected but Jay was impressed that she had dared to speak to him.

That time, the man didn’t react; he seemed to ignore the question as he put the gun back into his hoodie pocket, Jay praying that the safety was on.

Turning back to Jessica, Jay asked, “Did he take you? Like, from your house?”

Jessica nodded. “I had to work late and I didn’t get home until nearly five in the morning. When I woke up again, I was in the woods.”

Jay knew that he couldn’t take her home. If Alex knew where she lived, then that was probably the first place he would be going. He just prayed Alex didn’t know where Tim lived; considering he had abducted and harassed Jessica about his whereabouts, it seemed unlikely that he knew. A question remained though: why had Alex wanted to know where he was? If he’d wanted to meet up with him, why hadn’t he called?

Unless he’d wanted to have the upper hand, the element of surprise. Perhaps the ex-director had wanted to ambush Jay. The cameraman was afraid to think what could happen if he succeeded.

“Alright,” Jay finally said, more to himself than anyone else in the car. Glancing at Jessica, he said, “I’m not taking you home yet. That’s probably the first place he’ll go looking for you.”

Jay’s phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket, trilling with a generic ringtone as he dug one hand into his jeans and pulled out the device. Flipping it open, he asked, “Hello?”

“Jay? Where the hell are you?” Tim’s worried and slightly reprimanding voice asked. “It’s been an hour. I thought you would be back in thirty minutes.”

Pulling the phone away from his ear, Jay checked the time. It couldn’t have possibly been an hour. It might have been a little longer than half an hour, but it most definitely hadn’t been sixty minutes. The time displayed on the small screen proved Tim right though.

“I’m headed home now,” Jay said, trying to avoid having to explain everything over the phone. “But I’m bringing a friend.”

“Who?” Tim asked warily.

“I’m almost home. I’ll see you then.” Before Tim could say anything, Jay hung up. He was only a few minutes from the house, but he was not necessarily looking forward to having to face Tim.

Why hadn’t he just stayed home?


	27. Cryptic Pseudonyms

As Jay entered Tim’s house, he was surprised to see Tim sitting on the couch, his foot propped up on a pillow that had been placed on the coffee table. For some reason, he had expected Tim to be in his room, and he wished he had been; at least that way, he could have brought Jessica and the hooded man into the house and explained everything to Tim before he caught sight of the two. Instead, Tim was left shocked as not only Jay and Jessica entered, but also a strange, masked and hooded man.

“Jay, what the hell is going on.” It was phrased more like a demand than a question and Jay nearly shrunk away in embarrassment.

“I went to Rosswood,” he admitted sheepishly, knowing he was about to get a lecture.

“I thought you said you were going to the store.”

“He did,” Jessica piped up, holding up the bag of oranges, immediately adding, “You’re Tim, right?”

“Yeah,” he cautiously added as if he was unsure about his answer.

“I thought you looked familiar. I think we met once,” Jessica said. “I’m a friend of Jay’s and Alex’s. Well, I /was/ a friend of Alex’s.”

“That doesn’t explain why /he’s/ here,” Tim said, warily jerking his head in the direction of the hooded man.

“Alex attacked,” Jay said, beginning his explanation. “I know I told you I was going to the store - and I did - but I also went back to Rosswood-”

“How could you possibly think that was a good idea?” Tim accused.

“I don’t know! But, I mean, it’s a good thing I did. Because Alex kidnapped Jessica.”

Tim looked surprised. “He kidnapped you?”

Jessica nodded.

“He held a gun to her head and questioned her about me but the masked saviour over there saved her. And I think he got hurt in the process.”

Everyone turned to look at the hooded man, his face concealed by the indifferent expression of the mask. If Jay had guessed right, the red staining his hoodie had grown since they had left the forest, which would mean he was correct in guessing that the man had been injured. Neither Jessica nor Jay had heard the gun go off and he had taken it from Alex before severe damage could be done, but that meant he had been hurt some other way. It was likely that Alex had brought a knife along as well.

“Can I help you?” Jay asked, feeling all eyes on him. The man held perfectly still for several long moments before just barely nodding.

As Jay led him to the bathroom, he heard Jessica take a seat on the couch and begin asking about Tim’s leg.

In the bathroom, the hooded and masked man stood awkwardly before Jay gestured for him to take a seat on the toilet lid. Once he had stiffly sat himself down, Jay pulled the first aid kit from the medicine cabinet, opening it up before looking back at the man.

“Could you… Uhm… Take your hoodie off? So I can see the wound?”

The man seemed to tense and Jay quickly added, “You can leave the mask on, I just need to see the wound.”

With that reassurance, the man slowly grabbed the edge of his hoodie, slipping his arms out and pulling it over his head. The black shirt beneath pulled up enough for Jay to see part of the wound before falling back into place and obstructing his view. As Jay lowered to his knees with the kit in his hands, the man lifted his shirt so Jay could see the wound again. It looked as if he had been stabbed, but the cut was shallow and not very long. At best, it needed a few stitches but as the official unofficial medic of the household, Jay settled for cleaning the wound with alcohol and bandaging it up.

As he began to apply the bandage, he so eloquently asked, “So... What should I call you? I mean, we’re kind of on the same side, right?”

The man didn’t reply, simply staring at him with the large plain eyes of the mask.

“If I get you paper, can you write it or something? ‘Cause I’m really at a loss here,” Jay admitted, feeling completely powerless; that seemed to be a common feeling for him.

The man offered a single nod and Jay finished apply the bandage before disappearing to Tim’s room to grab a notebook and pen. When he returned, the man was exactly where he had left him. He hadn’t seemed to move at all. Passing the paper and pen to the stranger, Jay watched as he took the items, awkwardly setting them on his thigh as he tried to write.

His handwriting was familiar and the male immediately realized that it was the same writing that had appeared on the back of his hand weeks ago. As he wrote, he took his time with making every mark; Jay wasn’t sure if it was because he was just that careful or if it was because he was trying to figure out what to write, but he waited in patient silence. It took nearly five minutes before the man turned the paper around and held it up for Jay to read. Half of the paper was covered in his large, thick writing but only one thing had been written down: h00d13

“Hoodie?” Jay asked, trying to make sense of the word.

The man nodded once.

Figuring to test his luck, Jay requested something else. “Okay... Do you know what I could call Tim then? Ya know, when he's masked?”

The plain eyes of the black mask stared at him blankly for a few seconds before he placed the notebook against his thigh again and began writing. This time, the message was a little more difficult to understand: m45k13.

That one took a little longer to figure out but finally Jay's mind deciphered the numbers enough to ask, "Maskie?"

A single nod.

“Those are your names?”

Hoodie shook his head.

“So, that’s just what you want to be called?”

He shrugged indifferently, seemingly bored of the conversation.

“You don’t even care, do you,” Jay blandly stated, earning a shake of the head.

“Alright then.”

When Hoodie made a move to stand up, Jay began awkwardly stumbling over his words again. “Do you… Uhm, could I… I mean, your shirt is…”

The man waited patiently until Jay finally spit it out.

“Can I wash your clothes? They’re kinda…bloody…”

Either Hoodie had warmed up to him the smallest bit or he just didn’t care because he nodded. Jay stood dumbly, waiting for him to remove his clothing, but the man waited as well. It took a few seconds before Jay realized that Hoodie was waiting for him to leave and when he finally realized it, he mentally facepalmed before exiting the bathroom.

Once the door had closed behind him, it was only a matter of seconds before it cracked open again, a hand emerging with several items of clothing in its grasp.

“I’ll wash these for you,” Jay restated as he took the clothes, realizing that the bottom of the jeans were caked in dirt and the top was spotted with blood. As dirty as they were though, the hoodie was much worse off; technically, the shirt was probably more soiled than the hoodie, but it was nearly impossible to see the blood on the black fabric.

“You can stay in there or Tim’s room,” Jay managed to call from the other side of the bathroom door before heading down the hall toward the living room.

When Tim caught sight of him with an arm load of clothes, he sighed. “I’m not even going to ask.”

Jay decided that was for the best as he entered the laundry room, throwing everything into the washer with some liquid detergent. Once the washer had started up and the machine began to fill with water, Jay backed up against the opposite wall, sliding down to sit in the floor. Even though he had actually slept well the night before and woke up rejuvenated, he felt absolutely exhausted. Psychotic ex-friends and masked men seemed to do that to him.

Closing his eyes, he drew his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around himself, wishing himself out of existence. Nothing made sense; everything was just a chaotic mess of cryptic messages and threats and Jay felt absolutely lost. What was there to find? How could he make everything stop? It wasn’t like he could call the police; law enforcement had no place in this affair.

But Alex was still out there. What if he found Jessica again? What if he found all of them? Jessica had said he had a gun, but would he really use it? Had he lost his morality completely that he would shoot them without a second thought if he believed he was doing the right thing? What if he got Tim? His masked half kept no schedule and would appear whenever he felt like it, not to mention the fact that they were injured. Even if he could surge the strength to overpower Alex and wrestle the gun away, he wouldn’t be able to run away. No matter what, something bad was bound to happen.

“Hey, you alright?”

Jay jerked his head up to see Tim standing in the small entryway, hunched over on his crutches and studying Jay with a look of worry.

“I’m fine,” Jay croaked before clearing his throat. “I’m good.”

“Yeah, you look good,” Tim sarcastically replied as he rolled his eyes. “How about you stop bullshitting me for a second and tell me what’s actually wrong?”

Was he really that transparent? Or was Tim just that good at figuring him out? Probably the former.

“I’m just tired of all this,” Jay said, resting his chin on his knees and staring ahead at the blank front of the washing machine. “I’m really sick of having to run for my life or waking up without my memories or figuring out cryptic messages that make no sense.”

Jay tightened his hold on his legs as he huffed out a sigh. Tim let out a sigh of his own before hobbling closer until he was standing directly over Jay.

“Jay, look at me.”

Said male looked up.

“What else is bothering you? Because I know that you’re tired of all this, but I also know that you’re strong enough to handle it. Something else is eating at you.”

Jay stared at Tim blankly, trying to figure out what to say. There were so many explanations he could give, but only one seemed to accurately describe how he truly felt.

“I’m afraid, Tim,” Jay admitted. “I’m afraid that Jessica’s going to get hurt, or that I’ll get permanently lost in Rosswood, or that you’ll get hurt and there won’t be jack shit I can do about it.”

“Jay, I can take care of myself. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“What?” Jay nearly shouted. “Tim, I have every reason to worry about you! You have a masked subconscious that comes and goes when he pleases, you get hurt without knowing what happened, you could very well be a target to Alex. Why wouldn’t I worry about you?”

Tim sighed. “Okay, so /maybe/ I need a little looking after. But you don’t need to worry about me as much as you do.”

Jay looked down, pondering what Tim had said. He knew he would still worry about him constantly despite the reassurance.

“Hey.”

“What.”

“Look at it this way,” Tim said. “When I’m masked, I’ve got someone who helps me and looks out for me. A team player.” Tim was obviously trying to cheer him up, but Jay only felt a little comforted by the idea. The next sentence caught his attention though.

“And when I’m not masked, I’ve got you.”

“I have to share your affection with him now?”

“I thought it was obvious that both versions of me like you.”

That was true. Even before they had discussed any kind of relationship at all, masked Tim had made an awkward but obvious attempt to connect. He had even tried to wordlessly explain that he liked him and not the other man when Jay was confused. That had to mean something.

“Yeah,” Jay simply agreed, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against his knees, mumbling, “You’re right.”

“Why don’t you go take a nap, Jay?” Tim suggested, reaching his hand down to try and help Jay to his feet as best he could. “I’ll give these back to him whenever they’re clean, okay?”

“Alright,” Jay sighed, gingerly taking Tim’s hand but pushing himself up with as little assistance as he could; he didn’t want to pull Tim over.

As Jay headed toward the hall, he turned back to his boyfriend. “His name’s Hoodie, by the way.”

“Really?”

“Kinda. I asked what I should call him and that was what he told me.”

“Did you ask about me?” Tim asked with interest.

“Yeah, actually.”

“And?”

“Maskie,” Jay replied with a grin. “Fitting, I suppose.”

Tim chuckled. “Suits me fine.”

Leaving Tim in the laundry room, Jay headed down the hall, through the living room, and down the second hall, entering Tim’s bedroom at the end. Though he had offered to let Hoodie stay in the bedroom until his clothing was clean, he was relieved to see that he had opted to stay in the bathroom. Closing the door behind him, Jay slipped off his jacket and kicked off his shoes, flopping face down on the mattress. Within minutes, he was asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's traditionally spelled "Masky" but guess what. My story so I'm switching it up a little. And it doesn’t really matter anyway. (Totally wasn't because I couldn't find a number that looked similar to a "y"... haha… I mean, I could have used a 7 but eh. We’re shakin’ it up for once.)
> 
> Also, I just bought both MH comics and holy shit, that’s some good stuff right there


	28. Jay Has Left The Chat

Jay was running. He felt like he was always running and he couldn't remember a time when he hadn't been running. His feet thundered against the ground, pounding against the leaves underfoot that littered the forest floor even though it wasn't autumn yet. His mind spun, reeling for something concrete or just simply /real/ that he could latch onto to ground himself but there was no room.

So much space in the forest, so little space in his mind.

Colours danced in his vision: green, blue, red, yellow, purple. The world shifted sideways as if life was a video captured on one of his cameras and the device had been dropped on its side. Then everything corrected itself and he was given a moment to breathe.

Hands on his knees, Jay panted for breath, nearly gasped for air. His legs had ceased in their panicked pace but they shook unsteadily as he stood there. /What is wrong with me?/ he thought, but the thought came in broken up segments, as if the words had been spoken through a telephone and Jay had only caught a handful of them because of the poor connection.

Wht sw rngw ithm ee?

Wha tsr ng whme?

Wt sgh e?

The once simple thought reduced itself into unintelligible fragments that quickly dwindled past the point of recognition. What had the thought originally been? Or had it been something he had said? He didn't remember saying something but his memory was about as trustworthy as Alex himself.

Jay's legs nearly felt like jelly when he started moving again. Each step forward resounded in his ears, rattled his skull, disturbed his frequency. Why was he moving again? Why had he been moving in the first place?

The sound and movement of his pounding footsteps as he resumed running echoed throughout his entire skull, shaking the static that had wrapped around his brain like a blanket. The fuzzy lines - not unlike the common visual tears found on a VHS tape - shook and ripped, creating the most intense headache Jay had ever felt. He thought for sure that his brain was going to tear itself right in half, if for no other reason, than to just relieve the pressure.

A pressure itched at the back of his throat and by the time he realized he had stopped running to cough, he was emptying his stomach onto the brown leaves that covered the ground. The disgusting puddle at his feet was vibrant shades of red, blue, yellow, turquoise, even black. Everything about it was wrong but oh-so-familiar. It was the lines on the television screen when a station was experiencing technical difficulties. It was the distortion that appeared in so many of his and Alex's precious tapes. It was the world blending together in nothing but bright colours and fear.

Jay's mind was fading fast for reasons he could neither understand nor control. Words had no place in his brain, only numbers and letters and symbols. They were so obvious now; everything was so clear. How had he not seen it before? The cryptic messages, the confusing codes, the difficult puzzles. Their simplicity astonished him; how had he ever been so stumped by them?

Running again. Jay hadn't remembered moving his legs again or anything else about making the decision to move but he was moving again. The solid black and white contrast of trees before him was broken only by the thin, noisy static overlaid on top of it, the colourful tears pulling at the edges or ripping across the top every now and then.

A deep voice filled his ears and he stopped dead in his tracks, coming to a halt so fast that he nearly toppled right now. His head cocked to the side, but he simply listened, not bothering to look with his eyes. There would be nothing to find anyway.

The voice was deep, distorted so heavily that he couldn't be sure who it belonged to. Something in his mind told him it was the brunette, the one with the pale skin and black lips. The one with the endless black pits in place of eyes. The one who had been crippled by their common enemy. The one who made the static disappear, even if only for a second, so that he could realize he was human.

They were no longer human. That much was plain to see. Humans weren't created by a faceless creature, humans weren't corrupted minds and mindless creations.

The voice croaked out something that vaguely sounded like, "Jaaaaaaaaayyy."

Jay? Was that a person? Was that who he was supposed to find?

Jay, the buyer? Jay, the believer in the liar? Jay, who trusted the supplier? Jay, who would kill the denier?

No, no, no. Jay was weak. Jay had no part in this. He couldn't understand how important this was. He would ruin everything, and that was why he had to leave, albeit temporarily.

Colours danced in his vision again, wiping out all precious traces of the monochrome scenery.

Always running, running, running. Everywhere to be but always too late.

The static had mixed with the sound of the warped voice and drowned out the common sounds of the forest. The colourful static and tears in his vision were warped and shook, a series of binary code flashing at the edge of his vision.

White masks, black masks, glasses, and tapes. Cigarettes and cameras but always too late.

The liar with the cigarettes.

The buyer with the cameras.

The supplier with the black mask.

The denier with the gun.

Always running, always running late. Always running late. Always late. Always running, running, late, running, falling, dying, supplying, denying, running.

Always dying late...

Then everything was black, but that was alright because he no longer existed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually wrote this chapter in the dead of night before I’d even finished the previous chapter. Probably the most foreboding shit I’ve ever written. Guess what that means.


	29. You Call That A Distraction?

When Jay awoke, the light that shone through the blinds signaled the rising of the sun, not the setting of it. Just opening his eyes enough to see the light made his entire head hurt and he quickly shut his eyes as a headache tore at his brain. Groaning in pain, Jay slowly raised his hands to lightly hold his head between them. Tim wasn’t beside him and he wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

The last thing he remembered was speaking with Tim the night before and then falling asleep on his bed, but he felt like he was missing something; had something happened between then and now that he simply didn’t remember? It wouldn’t be the first time, and he was sure it wouldn’t be the last either.

A light knock sounded at the door and Jay mumbled, “Come in.” The words had been spoken quietly but they must have been heard because the knob turned and the door opened, Jay cracking his eyes open to see Tim hunched over on his crutches.

“How you feelin’?” Tim asked, taking in the sight of Jay laying on his back, spread out across the mattress, his hands grasping both sides of his head. “Headache?”

“Yeah,” Jay whispered in the hopes that keeping his voice low would ease the pain. While it didn’t alleviate the pressure, it kept it from building; that was a start.

“I’ll get you something,” Tim said before turning around and entering the bathroom. A few seconds later he returned, handing a bottle of generic over-the-counter pain relievers to Jay. The cameraman accepted them gratefully and swallowed them dry with minimal effort.

“Did you get much sleep?” Tim asked as he took a seat on the edge of the bed, holding both crutches in front of him with one hand so they wouldn’t tip over.

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Good,” Tim automatically replied, but Jay could see there was something else he wanted to ask. Before he could tell him that he was free to ask whatever he wanted, Tim beat him to it. “Where did you go last night?”

Jay was puzzled. “I went somewhere?”

“Well, yeah,” Tim replied. “After you came in here to lay down, I checked on you a few hours later and you were gone. You couldn’t have gone too far, considering your car never left the driveway. I guess I fell asleep before you came back ‘cause I never actually saw you come in.”

Jay groaned, rubbing his hands over his face and rolling onto his side, his thighs pressed against Tim’s lower back. So he /had/ left. But where had he gone? It couldn’t have been far if he was walking and he hadn’t been gone but for a few hours, but then again…

“Are the others still here?” Jay asked suddenly, more worried for their safety than anything else. He could worry later about whatever had occurred last night.

“Jessica is. Hoodie isn’t.”

“He disappeared?”

“Actually, no. We sort of had a meeting last night and tried to decide what our next step should be. Jess told me everything that had happened and about how Alex is armed and hunting you down, which seems sorta odd to me. Didn’t you say he had your phone number?”

Tucking an arm under his head - thankfully, his headache was beginning to subside - Jay looked up at Tim. “Yeah, he does. I thought it was kinda strange too, unless he wanted to gain the upper hand by having the element of surprise.”

“Jess said something like that. But anyway, we decided we couldn’t do anything until we got the chance to speak with Alex himself.”

“Tim, that’s really dangerous,” Jay said, pushing himself to sit up. Their faces were close and Jay had to force himself to focus; now was not the time to get distracted, no matter how enticing Tim might look.

“I know,” Tim admitted, “but we don’t have a lot of options.”

Jay sighed. “So what’s the plan?”

“We need Alex to come to us, but on neutral ground. I don’t want him finding out where I live, considering this seems to be the safe house for now. I haven’t been able to think out a whole plan yet, but I mentioned something about needing a way to distract Alex so that I could have more time to think of one without worrying about him coming after us and as soon as I said that, Hoodie left.”

“You don’t think he’s going to confront Alex, do you?”

“I think he’s going to find a way to distract him. So, yeah, possibly. But we have no way of knowing for sure.”

Jay stared off into space, his gaze resting somewhere on the floor to his right. With how utterly unpredictable Hoodie was, no one had any way of knowing what he might possibly do. Jay was concerned for Hoodie’s safety more than anything else though.

“Hey,” Tim said, setting his hand on top of Jay’s, earning his complete attention immediately. Looking up, Jay found that Tim was glancing between their touching hands and Jay’s face, seeming unsure if the contact was welcome, but Jay awkwardly managed to hook one of his fingers around one of Tim’s, reassuring him that the touch was fine. Though Tim still seemed noticeably awkward, he tried to move past that.

“He’ll be fine, Jay. For all we know, he’s done this kind of thing before. He can take care of himself.”

“He’s injured,” Jay lamely said for lack of a better excuse.

“He obviously knows what he can handle. He’s not a kid.”

Jay sighed. “I know. But I feel like it’s my fault.”

“That he got hurt?”

“That everything is happening, period.”

Tim grabbed both of Jay’s hands.

“Look at me.”

Jay did as told.

“This isn’t something you could have prevented. It just sorta happened, alright? So stop blaming yourself for it.”

“I could have at least not drug you into it. I never should have asked to-”

“Jay, listen to me right now.” Tim’s voice was stern, leaving no room for argument. “None of this is your fault. I’m not gonna bullshit you and say there’s a reason it’s happening, because there may be and there may not be. We don’t know. But you can’t keep blaming yourself for something outside of your control. Besides, at least one good thing has come from this.”

“What?” Jay asked, nearly holding his breath in anticipation of the answer.

“I got you,” Tim replied. “And I’ll be damned if I’m gonna let you do this alone.”

Staring at each other, the two slowly leaned in, both unsure what the other was thinking but getting the hint what they wanted. In such close proximity, their noses bumped gently and Jay closed his eyes, uttering a breathy laugh before their lips brushed and his breath caught in his throat. He was doing this. He was actually going to kiss Tim. He knew it wasn’t a big deal, but it sure felt like one.

As their warm lips met timidly, Jay vaguely wondered just how much experience Tim had in this department. He seemed more than shy to be kissing him, but he didn’t seem reluctant to do so. As their lips pressed together more firmly, Jay was stricken with a moment of panic. What if Tim wasn’t sure about this? About him? What if he was simply doing this because he was only curious or just wanted to experiment? What if he truly didn’t like Jay for who he was?

Jay’s panic was immediately quelled with the remembrance of Tim’s words from the morning before: “Jay, you know me better than that. If I didn’t want to be your boyfriend, I wouldn’t have asked.”

Pulling back from the kiss, Tim pulled away just enough so that he could see Jay’s face without his eyes crossing. “Are you alright? I mean, is this alright?” Yep, he was definitely nervous.

“This is fine,” Jay replied, leaning in for a second kiss which he was instantly granted. A voice from down the hall had them parting again.

“Guys, Hoods is back!” Jessica called from the living room.

Tim sighed, releasing Jay’s hands and patting the backs of them. “Guess we should go find out what he did, huh?”

“Yeah,” Jay reluctantly agreed. He would have been more than content to spend the whole day kissing Tim but it seemed they had other things that needed to be taken care of.

Grabbing his crutches, Tim headed for the door, Jay following close behind. Once they were in the living room, Tim wasted no time.

“Well?”

Hoodie reached into the large pocket of his hoodie and pulled out a familiar pair of glasses.

“You stole his glasses?” Jay incredulously asked.

“I mean, if he can’t see well, he can’t come after us, right?” Jessica asked.

“Not necessarily,” Tim warily replied. “This simply means that he is still possibly armed and now has limited eyesight.”

“Wouldn’t he have an extra pair of glasses?” Jay asked. That seemed like a logical thing to have; knowing Alex, he wouldn’t be surprised if he had several back up pairs.

The hooded ally reached into his pocket again and pulled out an identical pair, holding them up for the group’s inspection. Everyone stared for a moment longer before Tim sighed.

“This will either buy us some time or you’ve just signed our death warrant.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first of many kisses
> 
> Me writing about people with glasses: “Of course they’d have a spare. Duh. Who wouldn’t? Unprepared.”  
Me, as someone that actually wears glasses: *has only one pair*


	30. Dancing > Sandwiches

“I’m making sandwiches for lunch. You hungry?” Tim asked. The four of them - Hoodie, Tim, Jessica, and Jay - had been trying to figure out what their next move should be. After spending the entire morning planning and coming up with very little, Tim had decided it was time for a break.

“Uhm, yeah. That sounds good,” Jay replied, heading down the hall. Behind him, Tim disappeared into the small kitchen, leaving Hoodie and Jessica in the living room.

Entering Tim’s room, Jay closed the door behind him. After their long morning of planning (and kissing), he just needed a moment to himself. He was anxious to figure out a plan of action when it came to Alex and he was stressed out about what could have possibly happened the night before that he didn’t remember.

Quickly booting up his laptop, Jay went to an all too familiar website and typed something into the search bar. After waiting a moment for the results to load, he selected one of the videos and turned the volume up as high as possible on his laptop. As music started pouring from the internal speakers, Jay stepped away from the desk, standing in the middle of the room. Releasing the tension from his shoulders, Jay tilted his head back and closed his eyes, listening to the music as it built up. Listening closely to the bass, Jay bobbed his head up and down in time to the beat, letting a small smile appear on his face. It had been a long time since he’d stopped and just done something this normal. For a fleeting moment, he felt truly normal, and he latched onto that feeling. For the next eight minutes, he was allowed to feel like a normal human being.

By the time the song was half over, Jay was dancing around and singing loudly. He knew he must look ridiculous, but he couldn’t find the will to care. Belting out the familiar lyrics, he bobbed his head and danced awkwardly around the room, positive the others could hear him but grateful they hadn’t decided to interrupt him.

As the song came to an end, Jay found himself standing in the center of the room and panting lightly. He had actually worked up a sweat and he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, wiping his damp hand on his jeans as he approached his laptop and closed the lid, not bothering to turn it off. Turning to leave the room, Jay froze in place.

Standing in the open doorway was Tim, hunched over slightly on his crutches and wearing a small grin.

“What?” Jay squeaked out, praying that Tim hadn’t been standing there long.

“You never told me you could dance,” Tim said, still wearing a smile. Jay was sure he would die of embarrassment.

“That /was not/ dancing.”

“Think I could… Convince you to dance with me?” Tim awkwardly asked, gripping his crutches tightly as he shifted on his good leg.

“I don’t know how to dance,” Jay argued.

“Sure,” Tim said, rolling his eyes.

“I don’t!”

“Well neither do I, but I’m still asking to dance with you.”

Jay was scrambling for an answer. “What about your leg? You can't get around without your crutches.”

“Would you support me if I didn't have them?” Tim asked, a serious look appearing on his face.

“Of course,” Jay immediately replied and the smile reappeared on Tim’s face.

“Then I don't see a problem.”

As Tim drew closer to him, Jay was frozen in place. This whole situation was completely new to him. Sure, he’d dated a few girls in high school before he realized that he was into guys, and he’d even dated a handful of guys in his early days of college, but none of that compared to dating Tim. There was something unique about him that Jay couldn’t put his finger on. Maybe it was the fact that he actually returned his affection, despite the fact that he had practically ruined his life by dragging him back into Jay’s living nightmare. The man considered himself a sinking ship and felt like he was dragging Tim down to drown with him.

Tim’s hands tentatively grasping Jay’s hips snapped the cameraman out of his thoughts, forcing him to focus on the man touching him. Tim’s crutches had been discarded to the side, leaning up against the nightstand behind him.

“Th-there’s no music playing,” Jay stuttered out as Tim’s hands pulled him closer, their chests nearly touching.

“We don’t need music,” Tim simply replied.

“Is your leg okay?” Jay awkwardly asked, standing frozen in place and mind struggling to keep up. Tim ignored him as he raised one hand, grabbing Jay’s left hand and setting it on his shoulder, repeating the action with the other hand until Jay’s hands were set on Tim’s shoulders. If Jay’s awkward, panicked mind hadn’t been preoccupied with freaking out, he would have laughed at the fact that his partner was the one leading when he was the shorter of the two.

“Relax, Jay,” Tim said. His tension must have been obvious, but then again, how could it not be? He probably looked like he was on the verge of having a panic attack.

Forcing himself to relax, Jay let the tension seep out of his muscles as the two began gently swaying side to side. Their movement was limited with Tim’s injury, but neither minded. It was a little awkward at first - neither knew how to dance, there was no music playing, they were both tense and awkward - but as they swayed from side to side, they both began to actually relax.

Leaning down just a little, Jay let the side of his face press gently against the side of Tim’s face, sighing quietly.

“I wish we could just be normal and do the things normal couples do,” Jay lamented.

“We’ll get there,” Tim replied into Jay’s ear. Jay wasn’t sure when Tim had become the positive one, but he figured he should try to see the bright side as well. If Tim really planned on sticking with him until everything went back to normal - if that was even possible - he owed it to him to be happy as well. He probably wouldn’t stick around if Jay did nothing but sulk anyway.

Jay could feel the strain of Tim’s arms in the tight grip on his hips and he offered, “You wanna switch?”

“Yeah, please,” Tim requested, hopping awkwardly on his right leg as he slid his hands up from Jay’s hips to his shoulders. Jay shivered under the contact but moved his hands down to grasp Tim’s hips, steadying him. He doubted this could be very comfortable for Tim - /he really should be sitting down and putting his leg up, not dancing/ - but as long as Tim was willing to do it, he would keep quiet. He had been reminded time and time again by Tim that he was “an adult and I can take care of myself.”

Slowly and leisurely swaying from side to side, Tim gently pulled Jay down to place a simple kiss on his lips. Before Jay could even return the kiss, he was pulling away.

“I’ve never been with a guy,” he suddenly admitted.

Jay’s mind drew a blank and he had no idea how to respond. “Oh.”

“I don’t mean to scare you off or anything,” he said, “but I just thought you should know that.”

“Yeah,” Jay distractedly replied, his mind already attempting to race away.

“Hey,” Tim immediately said, recognizing the far away look Jay was getting. “That doesn’t mean I’m not serious about us, Jay. You know that, right?”

Jay nodded dumbly.

“Good.” He pulled Jay down again to place another innocent kiss on his lips.

“Alright boys,” a voice said from the doorway and Jay nearly toppled over in surprise. As Jay tightened his grip on Tim’s hips to anchor them both, both of the men’s heads turned to find Jessica leaning up against the door frame. “Come eat your food before Hoodie gets a hold of it. I’ve already had to make him another sandwich. The man’s ravenous.” She chuckled before heading off down the hall, leaving Jay and Tim alone again.

“Guess we should probably eat,” Jay reluctantly said, earning a nod from Tim. With Jay to steady him, Tim leaned back and grabbed his crutches, quickly pushing them under his arms so he wouldn’t have to cling to Jay.

With Jay trailing Tim, the two entered the small kitchen. Hoodie, who was sitting at the kitchen table, quickly yanked his mask back down when he caught sight of them. He had pulled the fabric just above his mouth so that he could eat, but he obviously didn’t want the men to see even that much of him. Jay supposed that was fair and he certainly wasn’t about to say anything about it.

Grabbing Tim’s plate off the counter, Jay set it at the empty spot at the table where Tim was lowering himself into the only seat. With the small size of the kitchen, the little square table had been pushed into the corner and only two seats were available. Returning to the counter, Jay grabbed his sandwich off the plate and leaned back against the counter as he ate, watching Tim and Hoodie.

Hoodie remained stiff in his seat, the eyes on his mask watching Tim blankly as he ate. When he finally realized that Tim wasn’t paying him a bit of attention, he hesitantly pushed his mask just above his nose and resumed eating. Jay wasn’t sure when the man had last eaten, but Jessica was right - he was completely ravenous.

Jay’s food caught in his throat and he began coughing harshly, earning the attention of both men.

“You alright Jay?” Tim asked, setting a hand on the back of his chair as if he were about to get up but Jay quickly flashed him a thumbs up before dropping his food back onto the plate and sprinting out of the room, throwing open the bathroom door and kicking it closed behind him before dropping to his knees and hacking up his food into the toilet. His throat was raw and tears stung his eyes but he couldn’t stop coughing. His windpipe was no longer blocked, but his lungs burned from the force of his coughs while simultaneously burning for more air. No matter how hard he coughed, he couldn’t seem to get rid of the feeling and he felt like he was slowly suffocating. He couldn’t fill his lungs with enough oxygen.

The edges of his vision were spotted with black as he coughed, sinking down to sit with his back pressed against the side of the tub. Each inadequate breath shook his body violently and he realized absently that he was shaking, tremors racking his body.

This wasn’t because of food. Choking on food didn’t inflict this kind of suffering.

Gripping the fabric of his jeans tightly with one hand, Jay tried to make himself stop coughing; he tried to hold it in but each suppressed breath made his chest bounce unevenly before he began coughing more violently than before. His throat felt as if someone had rubbed it raw with sandpaper and he shifted down to lean the side of his head against the cool edge of the tub as he coughed.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he realized how close to passing out he was. His ears were ringing and his lungs still burned from the strain and lack of oxygen. Blackness consuming his consciousness, he couldn’t hear Tim’s panicked voice from the other side of the door.

All he could hear was the static.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not that it matters but the song I’d kind of thought Jay would be dancing to is “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath. ‘Cause we love the classics around here. Chapter is actually inspired by the song “Lonely Dance” by Set It Off though.


	31. ᴃᴚᴓᴋᴇᴎ ᴃᴌᴜᴇᴃᴉᴙᴆ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case the title is difficult to read, this chapter is called “Broken Bluebird”  
It’s been over a year since I started this fic, but here we are at chapter 30. Whoo hoo!  
Chapter 27 (“Jay Has Left The Chat”) was written for a reason, and now we know why.  
Also, POV switch for this chapter because, well, you’ll see.

The harsh coughing from the other side of the bathroom door had stopped, but that had done nothing to ease Tim’s surmounting panic.

“Jay?” he called for the umpteenth time, receiving as much of a response as he had every time before. “I’m coming in.” With that warning, Tim reached down and turned the knob, pushing the door open before gripping his crutches again.

He wasn’t sure what he had expected to see, but the sight of Jay sitting in the floor curled in on himself with his side pressed against the tub was still startling.

Hobbling forward, Tim hesitantly approached the crumpled man. “Jay?”

Said man’s arm moved slowly, reaching down to feel the cold linoleum beneath him. His head lolled to the side, his eyelids fluttering but never fully opening as his hand felt around blindly.

“Jay, are you okay?” Tim tried again. Jay’s hand curled into a tight fist before he flexed his fingers, his knuckles cracking. His head suddenly snapped up, his wide brown eyes filled with panic as he stared at Tim who was frozen just inside the doorway. Jay scrambled to get up, crouching in the corner by the wall and tub, his eyes filled with panic and fear. Tim wasn’t sure why he was scared or what there was to be afraid of and he hated seeing him look so terrified.

“Jay,” Tim said, moving a little closer. Jay’s arm flung back, gripping the edge of the tub tightly in one hand; he looked caught between shrinking away in fear and pushing past Tim to flee.

“Jessica?” Tim called out into the living room, keeping his eyes on Jay.

“Yes?” she called back.

“Get Hoodie.”

A few seconds later, Hoodie silently appeared behind Tim, making Tim nearly jump out of his skin when he realized there was someone standing behind him.

“Something’s up with Jay,” Tim stated, shuffling to the side so Hoodie could pass him in the small doorway. The hooded and masked man seamlessly slid by, slowly approaching Jay in the cramped bathroom and crouching down to match his stance. Jay’s eyes flitted up to Tim’s then focused back on the man crouched in front of him. Using his free hand - his right still had a death grip on the edge of the bathtub - Jay slowly reached forward, lightly tugging on the black fabric that concealed Hoodie’s face.

As quick as lightning, the man’s hands shot up, snatching Jay’s wrists in his tight grip. The panic on Jay’s face tripled and he fell back, desperately pulling his arms in an attempt to free himself. Hoodie was having none of it, holding him in place by the wrists and refusing to budge. Tim watched with a mix of fascination, fear, and horror as Jay silently panicked, thrashing desperately. Hoodie stood, pulling a panicking Jay to his feet, and he backed up enough to kick the door. With Tim in the way, the door swung partially closed before knocking against a metal crutch.

Though Tim really didn’t want to leave the two alone together, he had to assume that Hoodie knew what he was doing. Apprehensively, Tim backed out of the room, closing the door as he went. As soon as the door clicked shut, he heard the sound of the lock turning on the other side. Other than the occasional shuffle or bump, the room was quiet, and Tim found that more concerning than if it had been loud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is short as hell, but I’m building up to something and I refuse to include timeskips in this story in any form other than chapter breaks.


	32. Welcome To The Party

The silence from the small bathroom had drug on for hours, each minute stressing Tim out more than the last. What could possibly be going on in there? Why was Jay acting so weird? The lack of noise convinced him that Hoodie wasn’t hurting Jay, but he still felt anxious. The door had only opened once, Hoodie leaving to get a notebook and pen before quickly returning. After that, it had been silent.

By the time the sun began to set, Tim was practically exhausted, having worn himself out worrying all day.

The sound of the bathroom door opening down the hall had Tim scrambling to get to his feet, allowing Jessica to help him up. The door closed again but Hoodie appeared at the end of the hall, approaching the two and setting the notebook he had borrowed on the coffee table. Tim leaned down and snatched it up, eyes scanning the page and then the following pages for something that could tell him what was going on. Most of it was unintelligible to him: numbers, binary code, letters and symbols that made no sense. However, there was one thing that caught Tim’s eye; it resembled an actual word and the man immediately began trying to make sense of it.

Scribbled thickly in black ink was “5ku117”. Flipping back several pages, Tim found the page where “h00d13” and “m45k13” had been written by Hoodie. Those had been the nicknames he had assigned to himself and Tim, so it made sense that this almost-word would be another name. Right?

“That kind of looks like ‘Skully’,” Jessica commented, looking over Tim’s shoulder to see the writing as well. Glancing up, Tim saw Hoodie nod slightly.

“Can I talk to him?” Tim asked. The simple brown eyes of the mask stared at him blankly for a few seconds before Hoodie nodded. That was all Tim needed to grab his crutches and head down the hall. The bathroom door was closed but Tim felt like something about the room had changed and he hesitantly turned the knob, fearing what he would find.

Pushed up into the corner, Jay was exactly where Tim had left him. His legs were bent, one tucked under the other and his chin resting on the vertical one; as soon as Tim entered the room and closed the door behind him, Jay’s eyes were trained on him, but he didn’t seem quite as frightened as before. At least, he no longer looked like he was going to flee at any moment.

“Skully?” Tim asked, unsure what exactly he should call Jay at the moment. He wasn’t responding to “Jay”, so this was all Tim had.

Jay’s eyes watched him carefully and he made no movement or acknowledgement to the question.

“Is that what I should call you?” Tim tried again, receiving another blank stare. “Come on, man. Help me out here.”

Skully’s thin fingers tapped the floor, glancing down to the tile before looking back up at Tim. The other man got the hint and awkwardly lowered himself to the ground, grabbing the edge of the sink tightly and letting out a pained groan when he finally made it to the ground. He would definitely be feeling that for a good while.

Holding his hand out, palm up, Skully stared intently at Tim, waiting for him to get the message. Tim copied the gesture, holding his hand out to Skully. The man resembled a frightened deer as he scooted a few inches closer, reaching out to gently take Tim’s hand, tracing over his palm with two of his fingers. Tim instantly recognized the first letter traced against his skin - it was simply the letter “J”. After that, three letters were traced across the expanse of Tim’s palm and the man felt a sense of confusion and fear at the realization that the letters were “ARK”.

“What does that mean?” Tim asked, looking up to Skully’s face, desperately trying to figure out the message while also wishing Jay were there.

The letter “J” was traced against his palm again and then the two fingers tapped his palm twice, trying to make him understand.

“The ark,” Tim said uncertainly, “has something to do with Jay?”

Skully wrote the word “ARK” again then tapped his own chest and traced the letter “J” against Tim’s palm for the third time. Tim felt caught between “I’ve almost got it” and “What the hell does this mean?”, making him more frustrated than before.

“Jay, ark, what?” Tim exasperatedly asked.

A slow sigh left Skully before he slowly pointed to himself, waiting for Tim to say something.

“You.”

He traced the letter “J” into Tim’s palm again.

“You, Jay. You’re Jay?”

Skully shook his head then slowly traced the letters “A”, “R”, and “K” into Tim’s palm.

“Ark.”

Skully nodded then pointed to himself again.

“You and the ark.”

Skully shook his head, his eyebrows pinched together in frustration and annoyance as he traced the letter “J” against Tim’s hand for the umpteenth time.

“Jay and the ark,” Tim suggested, earning a nod this time. Tim stared intently at Skully, trying to figure out just what he was supposed to understand. “Jay… Knows what the ark is?”

Tim jumped in surprise as Skully suddenly punched the edge of the tub, the force enough to shatter every bone in his hand. Sure enough, the knuckle looked out of place and immediately began to swell, but Skully didn’t seem to care. He continued to punch the plaster edge of the tub in frustration until he was all punched out and he just sat there in defeat, his hands coming up to grasp his head between them, curling into himself.

“I’m sorry,” Tim mumbled, unsure how to respond to the outburst. Skully waved him away with one hand, gesturing for him to leave. With a sigh, Tim grabbed onto the counter, awkwardly trying to pull himself up. It took several moments but after he got a secure hold on the counter’s edge, he began pulling himself up with his arms, trying to push his good leg under himself. He was halfway up when his hand slipped and he fell back to the floor in a crumpled pile, yelping in pain.

An instant later, Skully was leaned over him where he laid on the bathroom floor, his brown eyes wide and searching Tim’s face. His right leg hurt and his left leg throbbed from hitting the floor but he forced himself to take even breaths and tried to push himself to a sitting position.

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me,” he grumbled, turning to get a better hold on the counter before trying again. Immediately, Skully’s arms were wrapped around him, helping to ease him up off the floor. In one quick motion, Tim was pulled up from the bathroom floor, the arms around him holding him tight until he found his balance and could stand on his own. It was a sharp contrast to the fit of rage demonstrated moments before by Skully, but he wasn’t about to question it. Quite frankly, Tim preferred calm and levelheaded Skully as opposed to violent and unpredictable Skully.

Tim’s crutches were pushed under his arms and he stared blankly at Skully as the man backed away, returning to his corner. With a sigh, Tim realized that he would just have to wait this out; it wasn’t like he could force Jay to come back. With one last glance at the man, Tim opened the bathroom door and entered the hall, closing the door behind him before returning to the living room.

“Well?” Jessica asked as Tim took a seat on the couch.

Tim sighed. “We’ve got another cryptic.”


	33. ᴃᴌᴇᴇᴆᴍøᴚᴇ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ll get to some /actual/ content in the next chapter, but I feel like there hasn’t been enough simple fluff for these two yet. I mean, we’re already 30+ chapters in, so why not?
> 
> (Chapter title is “bleedmore”)

By the time everyone was ready for bed, sleeping arrangements had been decided. Though Jessica insisted that she sleep on the couch - Tim needed the bed more than she did - the stubborn man had insisted that she have it.

“I’ll be fine, Jessica. It’s not like I can’t prop my foot up on the couch.”

Jessica had given him a hesitant look but thanked him anyway before retiring to Tim’s room for the night.

As soon as the sun had disappeared from the sky and night had fallen, Hoodie had left without a word, though that was to be expected.

And still, the final occupant remained in the bathroom, separated from everyone else. After Tim had let Skully be, he hadn’t heard a single noise from that room.

Laying on the couch in the dark, Tim stared at the ground, absentmindedly watching the little light that streamed in through the blinds from the street lamps outside. He couldn’t stop thinking about Jay. Was that what he was like when he wore the mask? He shuddered when he imagined the way he might act and dreaded the idea of Jay being afraid of him. He wouldn’t hurt Jay, never, but not being in control all of the time meant he didn’t necessarily control his actions. There was the very real possibility that he could severely injure Jay - or anyone else, for that matter - and never know it until it was too late.

Though his anxious mind was running a mile a minute, Tim managed to quiet his thoughts long enough to drift into a restless sleep.

Most of the night was spent tossing and turning uncomfortably on the small couch, waking up in uncomfortable positions and with his left leg aching. Thankfully, he was able to fall asleep quickly each time he woke up; that is, until he heard a noise directly beside him.

Fearing danger, Tim’s eyes shot open and he scrambled to get his arms under himself so he could sit up. He froze in place - propped up on his elbows - when he saw the figure looming over him. Most of their features were lost in the dark and concealed by the mask they wore, but the slots of light from between the blinds cast an orange light over them. From what Tim could see, they were clothed in jeans, a black hoodie that hung from their frame loosely - suggesting their smaller frame - and a white mask. The mask itself was nearly an exact copy of Tim’s own, but a rectangular grid of square “teeth” replaced the black lips.

Staring down at Tim, the person stood completely still, the only movement being the involuntary rise and fall of their chest beneath the hoodie as they breathed.

“Skully?” Tim quietly asked, his low voice shattering the silence. He prayed that this was Skully and not some fourth, unknown, potentially dangerous person. Or, God forbid, Alex. Though, if it had been Alex, he probably wouldn’t have just stood there.

The person shuffled in place briefly before leaning closer, their hands gripping the edge and back of the couch - though it was obvious they favoured their left - as they placed one of their knees between Tim’s legs, shifting their weight so that they slowly laid down on top of Tim.

His breath caught in his throat; he was balanced on the ledge, somewhere between fear and acceptance, he just wasn’t sure which way to lean. He was almost positive this was Skully but he wasn’t sure and his heart hammered in his chest with all of the possibilities flooding through his mind. He vaguely wondered if the other person could feel it through the layers of fabric between them, but they made no indication of it if they could.

“Skully?” Tim tried again, his breath huffing gently against the thin plastic of the mask that hovered mere inches from his face. The body on top of him was wound tight, every muscle tense as they shifted slightly to get more comfortable until they found a good position. The darkness behind the mask concealed the person’s eyes and Tim desperately wished he could see them. Maybe that could give him a clue as to who this person was.

The masked person’s left hand tucked under Tim’s back and their right hand slowly drifted down from the back of the couch to Tim’s shoulder, resting there limply. With the little light flooding in through the blinds, Tim could see the white bandage wrapped around the hand, covering half of the fingers and travelling farther up, disappearing under the black fabric of the hoodie. That simple detail told Tim exactly who this person was and he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Don’t do that to me,” he whispered, his heart beginning to slow its panicked pace. “Nearly scared the shit out of me.”

Skully’s head tilted just slightly to the left and he pulled back a little.

“Seriously,” Tim insisted. “I couldn’t fight you off if I wanted to. Don’t scare me like that.” Huffing a quiet chuckle, he added, “Way to give a guy a heart attack.”

His hand slid out from beneath Skully’s arm to press against his chest, his hand over his heart as he felt his heart rate steadily decline to emphasize his words. Skully seemed to perk up, wiggling slightly in place to fit himself in place on top of Tim before he slipped his hand out from under the man beneath him and under Tim’s own hand, feeling the man’s heartbeat for himself.

The gesture was intimate in a way Tim couldn’t even begin to explain and he felt his breath catch in his throat. It wasn’t that he hadn’t been touched before. He had been with other women and been touched in countless ways - sexual, romantic, and platonic - but the fact that it was, in a way, Jay doing it was what made it all the better.

When Tim removed his hand from over Skully’s, the man removed his hand as well, leaning his head down to press his ear against Tim’s chest as if he were trying to hear the blood rush beneath the skin and muscles. Tim doubted he was successful, what with Tim’s shirt and the hood of Skully’s hoodie in the way, but there was no way he was about to comment on that. If nothing else, he enjoyed having him so close.

Slowly so he wouldn’t spook Skully, Tim took the man’s injured hand into his, lifting it up enough to see it in the light. Skully lifted his head lazily, obviously comfortable with Tim and no longer fearing having him so close. Tim closed his eyes and brushed his lips over the bandaged knuckles, placing a ghost of a kiss on the white bandage. When he opened his eyes, he saw that the black pits of the mask were watching him, studying his actions and waiting for him to make another move.

It finally occurred to Tim that Skully probably had no idea that they were dating. Well, sort of. Tim was dating Jay, but Jay was absent for the moment, someone else taking his place.

“Is this alright?” Tim whispered, his voice quiet, though it sounded loud to himself in the otherwise silent room. Skully shifted in place again before setting his left hand over Tim’s eyes, the long fingers blocking his vision. Immediately, Tim’s anxiety shot through the roof but he tried to make himself relax. He trusted Skully and with how gentle his actions were, he knew he wasn’t going to be hurt in any way.

Relying solely on his hearing, Tim listened carefully to the quiet, soft sound of rustling fabric and the sound of cheap plastic being moved (or possibly removed) before he felt Skully’s cheek against his own. A stuttered sigh of relief escaped Tim’s lips at the skin on skin contact and he allowed himself to relax completely, surrendering himself to Skully. Covering Tim’s eyes wasn’t necessary, considering he already knew who Skully was, but if that was what the cryptic wanted, Tim would allow it. The amount of trust he had in the man might have been a little ridiculous, if he was honest with himself.

Skully’s familiar lips brushed against Tim’s lightly but he seemed hesitant; it didn’t seem like he didn’t want to take their actions farther, rather, it seemed like he wasn’t sure what to do. Tim remained still, letting Skully feel the situation out for himself. Whatever he was comfortable with and willing to do, Tim would accept. He didn’t want to push him to do anything he didn’t want to. If Skully wanted to simply touch his cheek to Tim’s, then that was what would happen.

The long, thin fingers of Skully’s right hand gently touched Tim’s bottom lip, four fingertips touching the skin oh-so-lightly. Tim remained stationary, waiting with bated breath to find out what would happen next. Skully’s nose gently bumped against Tim’s with how close they were but neither made a move to pull away. When Skully’s fingers disappeared from Tim’s face, his lips were quick to replace them, gently kissing at Tim’s bottom lip. Tim kissed back, wrapping his right arm around Skully’s waist to pull the other against him - as if they could get any closer than they already were.

A heavy breath flooded from Tim’s lungs when Skully’s teeth sunk into his bottom lip hard, harder than simple kissing should allow. A quiet noise, half groan half grunt, left Tim’s parted lips before Skully drew back. His hand over Tim’s eyes remained in place but his body shifted up farther on Tim’s body until Tim could feel warm, steady breaths against his ear. His mouth slowly filled with the taste of blood, but it wasn’t a substantial wound so he ignored the sensation.

The breaths suddenly sounded strained and Skully huffed against Tim’s ear a few times before he quietly, his voice barely above a whisper, managed a single syllable.

“Blllll…” The voice was hard to hear, even at such close range, but Tim still heard it. The syllable was drawn out on his breath and it sounded like he was struggling to speak, but Tim was patient.

“...Eeeeedd…” The sound of the letter “D” was nearly missed as Skully groaned out in a whisper, “Mmmmmoooooorrrrrrre.”

Tim had never heard Jay’s voice sound so raspy or exhausted and it left him feeling concerned. He had spoken fine the day before, so why was he struggling now? Maybe that was simply something unique to Skully.

Sliding back down, the cryptic ran his lips lightly over Tim’s before kissing him again. Tim’s bottom lip stung from the feeling, but there was no way he was about to stop. The metallic taste of blood had filled his mouth, but he could taste his own blood on Skully’s lips and it gave him a strange, twisted thrill. Still, he forced himself to remain still, only kissing back gently and occasionally running his hand up Skully’s back in a comforting gesture.

Finally, Skully pulled back. Tim could hear the sound of fabric and plastic from earlier before the hand over his eyes lifted and Tim could see again. The black hood was flipped up and the white and black mask was over Skully’s face again, but Tim found that he could live with that for now. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t ever get to see Jay’s face again.

Skully’s finger came up to wipe at the small trickle of blood that ran from Tim’s lip and he wiped it on his jeans, unconcerned. His head slowly lowered to press against Tim’s chest again, listening to the man’s heart. Tim allowed himself to close his eyes, moving his hand up to rest over Skully’s head which was hidden beneath the hood.

“Good night, Skully,” Tim whispered.

A quiet huff sounded against the inside of the plastic mask, but the man was otherwise quiet. After that, Tim found sleep easy to come by and keep.


	34. Time To Hit The Road

A hazy sense of reality rested on the edge of Jay’s consciousness, but he couldn’t be sure if he was awake or not. His hands came up to rub at his face and instead met with a plastic surface. A quiet sound vibrated in his throat, but his lips refused to cooperate so the sound died quickly. Blinking his eyes, he realized that his face felt stiff and his eyes were sore, as if he had been crying.

A short groan sounded from beneath him and Jay froze in place, his muscles going rigid. Where was he? His eyes were still slightly blurry and he had tunnel vision which was concerning to say the least. He couldn’t recall any of the events from nearly the past twenty four hours and he found that his head hurt when he tried.

Pushing his hands against the bed below him, Jay quickly found that he wasn’t laying on a bed; there was no mistaking the fact that he was laying on a person. He was suddenly hyper aware of the arm that was loosely draped over his waist before the person below him shifted a little.

The hand on his hip began running up his back soothingly as a familiar voice said, “Good morning, Skully.”

Jay froze in place, his mind spinning.

“You alright?”

Jay finally tilted his head up just the slightest so he could see through the holes in the mask and his arms were trembling as he reached his hand up to run his fingers over the obvious cut just below Tim’s bottom lip. His eyes immediately drifted down to the white bandage wrapped around his right hand and he found that he couldn’t remember how he had gotten hurt. He realized this must have been what Tim felt like, though to a much greater degree: waking up, injured, no recollection of what had transpired the day before.

A light pressure against the left side of the mask had Jay focusing on Tim again. The man’s hand was cupping the side of the plastic mask and Jay only realized his breathing was becoming hectic when Tim asked again, “Are you okay?”

Jay’s left hand balled into a fist slowly, gathering the fabric of Tim’s shirt. He felt completely powerless and, besides the obvious throbbing pain in his knuckles, he felt hurt.

In a quiet, scratchy voice, so quiet, he wasn’t sure he had even said anything aloud, Jay rasped, “No.”

Tim looked shocked that he had answered and immediately his hands came up to hold Jay’s plastic face in his hands.

“Jay?” His eyes were searching Jay’s and the cameraman wasn’t sure if he could actually see his eyes behind the mask, but he thought he could.

Slowly, Jay’s left hand released its grip on Tim’s shirt and moved up to the edge of the mask, pushing it up until the strap released him and he was free of it. After he’d dropped the cheap piece of plastic onto the floor, he reached his hand up again to run his fingertips over the cut in Tim’s lip. His eyes were fixed on the wound and the only thing Jay could think was, /Please, God, tell me I didn’t do this./

“What…” Jay’s throat hurt and he wasn’t sure if he should ask the question; he didn’t particularly want to know the answer.

Tim let out a small sigh of relief, though Jay wasn’t sure why, and a simple smile appeared on his face. “You, uh, you kissed me last night.”

“It looks like I tried to take a bite out of you,” Jay anxiously replied, his eyebrows knit together as he studied the small wound. He let a moment of silence pass before he asked, “So… What happened last night? Or yesterday. I don’t exactly remember either.”

The smile dropped from Tim’s face, but it seemed like he had been expecting the question. “There’s not a whole lot to say. You became the person behind the mask, just like I have.”

“You called me Skully?” Jay suggested, hoping for more of a substantial answer than, “Not a lot happened.”

“Yeah,” Tim awkwardly replied. “That’s what you, well, /he/ wanted to be called.”

Jay nodded his head before dropping it against Tim’s chest, closing his eyes.

“This sucks.”

Tim couldn’t help but utter a ridiculous and inappropriately timed laugh. He’d spent so much time going back and forth between living a “regular” life and being the person behind the mask that he had forgotten how utterly terrifying it was the first time you woke up with a mask and substantial memory loss.

“Yeah,” Tim finally said, setting his hand on Jay’s hip. “It really sucks.”

The hurried shuffle of feet could be heard down the hall before Tim’s bedroom door was thrown open and Jessica came running down the hall.

“I’m late for work!” she anxious announced, seeming at a loss for what to do, when her eyes landed on the two men sharing the couch. Jay had forgotten what that felt like - how long had it been since he had last had a job? - and he realized how stupid it was to think for even a second that Jessica didn’t have a job. Of course she did. She was only in this mess because of Alex, but she had still been functioning fine.

“I’ll drive you,” Tim offered, sitting up once Jay had slid off the couch.

“I’ll need to stop by my house to get my work clothes,” Jessica said, earning a nod from Tim. As Jessica hurried out the front door to get in Tim’s car, Tim turned to look at Jay sitting on the floor.

“I’ll only be gone a little while. Will you be alright?”

“I’ll be fine,” Jay weakly said, giving Tim a small smile. Tim didn’t believe that for a second and he was about to tell Jay to get in the car when a familiar figure appeared at the end of the hallway. How Hoodie had managed to scramble up to the second story window in Tim’s bedroom was a mystery and Tim wasn’t sure even why he would do that when the front door was literally right there, but he supposed it was because he didn’t want to be seen by the neighbours or anyone else who might be watching.

Hoodie grabbed Tim’s hand and tugged on it, trying to pull him toward the bedroom. A notebook was held in one hand and Tim glanced at Hoodie before looking to Jay.

The cameraman understood the unspoken request and nodded, fishing his keys from his jean’s pocket and opening the front door. If nothing else, driving Jessica to work would be a good distraction, one he desperately needed.

A yellow piece of paper was taped to the door and Jay ripped it down, reading over the lines of text that covered it. At first glance, he had expected to see a cryptic or threatening message from Alex and his heart sped up; what he found was nearly as bad.

“What is it?” Tim’s voice asked from behind him, causing Jay to jump. He thought Tim had already gone to his room.

Turning the page around, Jay held it up for Tim to see. In large print at the top were the words “EVICTION NOTICE” and Jay watched Tim’s face closely. The man looked confused, hurt, and angry before his face became completely blank.

“Tim?” Jay urged, trying to get him to say something, anything.

Nothing.

“You’ve only been out of work two weeks,” Jay pointed out.

“I couldn’t make my rent last month,” Tim replied, turning away. “And this month’s rent was due last week.”

Jessica appeared behind Jay suddenly. “C’mon, I really gotta go.”

“We’ll talk about it when you get back, Jay,” Tim said before gripping his crutches tight and returning to his room. Jay wasn’t looking forward to that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spent all of Saturday binge watching Marble Hornets for the 3rd time. I’m yelling at the TV and my younger sibling is laughing and shouting “Get him!” T^T


	35. A Moment Alone

Jay had been gone no longer than two hours before he returned to Tim’s house. After a quick stop at Jessica’s house to get her work clothes, Jay had driven her to work and managed to get a few cardboard boxes from the storage room then quickly returned to Tim’s house. Even though he hadn’t been gone long at all, he was shocked to find most of Tim’s things were missing. His furniture was still in place, but the few books on his shelves, his collection of CDs, all of his clothing, and his guitar were missing. Upon closer inspection, Jay managed to find all of the missing belongings in the trunk and backseat of Tim’s car. Even after that discovery though, Jay still felt uneasy.

Tim and Hoodie were missing.

Jay still felt uneasy and more anxious than usual because of his realization that morning that he also had a masked persona and he wanted nothing more than to just sit with Tim and talk about it. Unfortunately, it didn’t look like that would be happening anytime soon.

With some time to himself, Jay went out to his car and grabbed his duffel bag with his good hand before returning inside. Dropping the bag on the bathroom floor, he locked the bathroom door and wasted no time in stripping himself of his clothes - Were these even his? He didn’t think he owned a black hoodie; it was possible it belonged to Tim - and turning on the hot water. With the hot water burning the skin of his back, Jay unraveled the white bandage of his right hand.

The wound beneath shocked him. All four of his knuckles were swollen and bloody, the skin split open in a gruesome display. Though he turned down the temperature of the water until it was only lukewarm, as soon as he eased his hand under the water, he drew it back with a hiss through his teeth. The skin was red and tender, and the water didn’t help to soothe it at all. He knew he’d have to clean it, especially if he didn’t want it to get infected, but it wouldn’t be a fun task.

Jay’s right arm shook as he gently rubbed soap over his busted knuckles, trying as lightly as possible to clean the wound. It was still painful, but some part of his brain whispered that it could have been worse - “You could have ended up with a broken leg, now couldn’t you?”

With his hand finally clean, Jay wasted no more time in the shower, hurrying to wash the rest of himself and then shutting off the water and drying off. The clothes in his bag were folded up and wrinkled, but he wanted something else; besides, Tim would want his hoodie back. Speaking of which, where was he supposed to put the piece of clothing? All of his things were packed up… He supposed he could just put it in with his own clothes and give it to him later. After all, wherever Tim was going, Jay would be right behind him.

Jay knew Tim didn’t have enough money to rent another place - if he did, then he wouldn’t be getting evicted - but he also knew that he couldn’t sleep in his car. There wasn’t enough space to accommodate his broken leg. Jay himself was low on cash and he’d have to count how much he actually had later, but he thought he might have enough for them to stay at a hotel for a few days. Though that itself was probably a long shot.

Pulling on clean clothes from his duffel bag, Jay was caught between wanting to ask Jessica if they could stay at her house until everything was sorted out and not wanting to drag her back into this mess. In all honesty though, it seemed like she was already going to be involved no matter what anyone wanted or tried to do to stop it. Alex had kidnapped her from her home; he had forced her to become involved. While he hated having to ask her, he also couldn’t expect her to give up her house to go on the road with them, and he wasn’t about to leave her unprotected (though, if he was honest with himself, was he really a good form of protection in any way?). Though Tim was injured and wouldn’t be able to do much in the way of protecting, Jessica, Tim, Jay, and Hoodie all stood a better chance if they stuck together. At least, that’s what Jay told himself. Safety in numbers, right? Even if Alex showed up with a gun - and he knew where Jessica lived, so it might have been an issue of when and not if - there was a good chance that the four of them could take him down.

Jay hoped it wouldn’t come to that though.

Finally dressed, Jay realized how exhausted he was. Though he figured he had gotten some kind of sleep the night before, Jay still felt completely worn out. Though it was unsettlingly quiet in the mostly empty house, Jay thought he could sleep nearly anywhere right then.

After setting an alarm so he would be up in time to pick up Jessica from her job, he was asleep nearly as soon as he hit the mattress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter, but we’re just getting a few details out of the way. I’m excited to write the next chapter.


	36. ᴛᴉᴐᴋᴛøᴐᴋ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there’s no confusion, “quotation marks” are for Hoodie’s dialogue and ‘apostrophes’ are for Maskie’s dialogue

The forest was bright, and neither of the masked men were particularly comfortable with such a high level of visibility. They could see just fine in the dark; being in the light only meant their enemies could see them better. It provided no personal advantage to them.

Crouched down in the small red shack, Maskie knew Hoodie was staring at him, but what he was searching so desperately for, the other knew not. He was a little surprised when the other decided to speak, foregoing their usual types of communication. It didn’t matter much to Maskie though. Speaking was a faster way of communicating, and if Hoodie was going to take the time to talk, he must have a lot to say.

“Liars everywhere,” Hoodie’s voice, rough from being dormant for so long, rasped out.

‘I have not forgotten,’ Maskie replied, his voice not nearly as rough as Hoodie’s, though still strained.

Hoodie’s head cocked to the side slowly and one of his hands lowered to the floor before he crept forward on hands and knees. From Maskie’s position on the floor, his injured leg to one side, leaving his legs open in a relaxed “V” shape, the masked man watched expectantly as Hoodie crept forward.

The white plastic of his mask was nearly touching the black fabric of Hoodie’s before the other said in a quieter voice, “Are you one of them?”

A silent rage crept up Maskie’s spine, liquid static bubbling beneath his skin at the accusation. ‘Look closely and you will know.’

“Are you both of them?”

‘Endangering truth receives death,’ Maskie warned, earning a quiet noise from Hoodie. His shoulders moved briefly in such a way that the other knew he was laughing silently. As quick as the movement had begun, it stopped. Hoodie’s hand shot out, grabbing one of Maskie’s wrists.

“Tell us.”

Maskie jerked his arm away.

The black masked cryptic sat back on his ankles as he reached into his jeans pocket, pulling forth a wadded up picture. He tossed the picture toward Maskie’s leg as he quietly said, “You have been keeping secrets.”

Maskie remained frozen for a few seconds before he snatched up the picture and unfolded the thick, unusual paper. It was an image of him running through the forest, a passed out Jay on his back, limbs wrapped around him to hold the man in place.

Another wadded up picture was tossed at him, then another. The second photo was of Maskie laying in Tim’s bed, Jay laying beside him and their fingers laced together. The third was of Maskie dragging Jay down the tunnel in Rosswood, that tall, horrific creature standing at the opposite end of the tunnel. The picture had a high contrast and part of it was distorted beyond recognition, but Maskie didn’t need all the details to know what the photo was. He remembered.

“He will lead me,” Hoodie groaned as Maskie tilted his head up to look at the other, crumpling the photographs in his fists.

‘Be silent!’ Maskie suddenly snapped. ‘One day you will understand,’ he tried to explain. That hooded moron couldn’t see this his way; he could only see it the way he wanted to. He could only see the polaroids, high contrast, static, burning poison random endings centered excludes encountering stale every section.

‘01001000 01100101 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101100 01111001 01101001 01101110 01100111,’ Maskie growled out, his mind slipping more than it usually did when he managed to hold a conversation with Hoodie. The other seemed unphased by his outburst.

Maskie’s mind was filled with the high pitched whine of a camera, the static burning his veins and threatening to scald him from the inside out. Through it all, his warped consciousness screamed - 011001010110111001100100011010000110100101101101! - but he settled for punching the broken planks of wood beneath him.

Hoodie watched in uninterested silence. The bastard.

Slowly, he reached his hand into the back pocket of his jeans and produced a fourth photograph. This one was of the third member of their group, though he didn’t yet know he was a member: “Skully”. Unlike the three previous photos, this one was new.

The thin figure was clad in jeans, simple tennis shoes, and a black hoodie that was much too big. Chances were, it was Tim’s. A white mask concealed his face, similar in design to Maskie’s, though the mouth was shaped differently.

Pointing at the photograph, Hoodie plainly said, “Here is something I have wanted to show you.”

Maskie’s chest was heaving slightly beneath his jacket with the force of his laboured breaths. His vision was nearly black except for the bright sparks of static appearing along the edges and the bleached out face of the mask in front of him.

He knew the man was grinning beneath his mask when he simply replied, “Tick tock.”

The two were engaged in a stare off with no clear winner in sight. Hoodie’s hand reached out slowly and slipped beneath Maskie’s mask, the tip of his gloved thumb pressing harshly against the cut in his lower lip. The clotted wound broke open again, a small trail of blood running down his face and chin, staining the gloves of the other.

“Bleedmore?” Hoodie asked, taunting Maskie in the most infuriating way.

A warning growl sounded in Maskie’s throat and he suddenly sprang forward, his hands fisting the tan material of Hoodie’s loose-fitting hoodie. Their faces, though concealed, were only inches apart, and Hoodie leaned in to press the side of his face against the side of the white, cheap plastic before whispering, “How?”

Maskie stared at the wall across from him blankly, his head throbbing.

“How much? How much do you hate?”

The gloved hand that was on Maskie’s face disappeared from that part of his anatomy before it came up to cup the side of the plastic face. He nuzzled his nose against Maskie’s ear and the other closed his eyes.

“It is not enough.”

The static in Maskie’s mind began to recede, the burning returning to an uncomfortable warmth instead of liquid lava. He could feel Hoodie’s hand fumble against the floor before a photograph was pushed into his hand. Without opening his eyes, he could tell which one it was, considering there were no creases in it.

“There are doors unopened,” Hoodie quietly murmured, his finger tapping the photo.

‘He is broken,’ Maskie murmured.

“He can be fixed,” Hoodie replied, moving his hand up to rest on Maskie’s shoulder. The masked man felt himself perk up just barely at that. Was it possible? Could he really be fixed after being broken for so long?

The hand on his shoulder slipped up his neck to gently grab the plastic chin, the gloved fingers lingering on the skin just beneath the edge. Drawing back, the two locked eyes.

“We look to the origins,” Hoodie warned, “or so much more than time will be taken.”

Maskie curled himself up against Hoodie, burying his plastic face into the other’s clothed shoulder. He understood the implication of the words, but he still didn’t want to consider the possibility that they might come to fruition.

Pulling themselves away from each other, a silence filled the room as Hoodie stood, reaching out to help Maskie up as well. Putting most of his weight on his right leg, Maskie stood in place, watching his companion turn to leave.

“Wake up,” Hoodie croaked as he approached the doorway to the shack. At the last moment, he stopped, turning to look back at Maskie blankly before adding, “Return to us.”

A moment of silence passed as the two stared at each other before Maskie replied, ‘See you soon.’

With that, Maskie was alone again, his blood beginning to burn again and his head throbbing with static and bright colours.

Hoodie was right, just like always.

“TICKTOCK”  
‘TICKTOC’  
“TICKTO”  
‘TICKT’  
“TICK”  
‘TIC’  
“TI”  
‘T’  
“TO”  
‘TOC’  
“TOCK”  
‘TOCKT’  
“TOCKTI”  
‘TOCKTIC’  
“TOCKTICK”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All the dialogue is taken from actual totheark entries, though some of it was changed just a little


	37. Four And A Half Housemates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of this chapter thoroughly kicked my ass. Anyway, here we are, back at it after over a month.

“Dinner should be ready in about an hour,” Jessica informed Jay as she entered her small kitchen, beginning to gather items from the fridge. After Jay had picked her up from work, the two had stopped by Tim’s house to leave a note in his car with Jessica’s address and then had headed back to her house. Though it was clear Jessica had had a hard day at work, she still happily began to prepare dinner.

“Jessica, you don’t have to do that,” Jay insisted.

“What else would we eat?” Jessica joked as she added water to a pot and turned to set it on the stove, turning on the eye of the stove so it could heat up.

“At least let me help,” Jay said. He hated feeling useless though he felt like that was all he ever was nowadays.

It took a little more persuasion, but eventually the two were helping each other prepare dinner. As Jay added the pan of garlic bread to the oven, he found himself worrying about Tim again. Beside the fact that he was injured, he should have been back by now. What could he possibly be doing? Not to mention the fact that Hoodie was missing as well, though the man seemed to come and go as he pleased, so his absence wasn’t much of a surprise.

When the dinner was finally ready, Jay helped to scoop some of the pasta onto two plates before carrying the plates into the small dining room and setting them on the table, Jessica following with the silverware and napkins.

As the two took a seat, Jessica called out loudly, “Adam, dinner!”

Jay sat in surprised silence, waiting for the third member of their party. He hadn’t known Jessica had a housemate, boyfriend, whatever. He had thought she lived alone and Jay wasn’t sure how to feel about the new information. On the one hand, having someone else around to protect Jessica was wonderful; on the other hand, it only meant Jay was dragging yet another person into his personal hell.

From the entryway, a black cat suddenly appeared, lazily pausing in the entrance to the kitchen before stretching out and yawning.

Adam was a cat.

Well, that was good news. At least now Jay wasn’t dragging someone else down on his sinking shipping. Two people were enough.

“You don’t have allergies, do you?” Jessica suddenly asked, noticing the way Jay stared at Adam.

“No,” Jay quickly replied, “I just didn’t know you had a cat.”

Jessica happily laughed as she began spearing some thick noodles with her fork. “Yeah, I’ve had Adam for about five years now.”

“Wait, you were gone for, what, two days?” Jay asked. “Wouldn’t he have been hungry during that time?”

“I keep his bowl full all the time,” Jessica replied, bringing the fork to her mouth. “He eats when he’s hungry.”

“Huh,” Jay replied as he began eating as well. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Adam sitting beside him, staring at him lazily with his caramel-orange eyes. After a few minutes, it was becoming annoying.

“What?” Jay asked, finally addressing the cat. “What do you want?”

“He’s just sitting there,” Jessica nearly laughed. “I don’t think he wants anything except to annoy you.”

Jay glared at the feline before trying to ignore it, focusing on his meal.

That proved to be difficult. By the time Jessica and Jay were clearing the table and washing the dishes, Jay thought he was going to have a heart attack. Jessica’s cat had stared at him the entire time he ate and as they both stood at the sink washing the dishes by hand, Adam had taken it upon himself to rub against Jay’s legs, a deep, rumbling purr making his entire body vibrate gently.

“Why is he so intent on annoying me?” Jay asked, glancing down from his task to the cat rubbing against his legs.

“He likes you,” Jessica replied, smiling fondly at Adam who decided to sit between Jay’s feet. “Wouldn’t hurt to be friendly.”

Jay supposed that was true. With the dishes washed and set to the side to dry, Jay decided he would give the small animal a chance.

“Can I pick him up?” Jay asked before watching Jessica bend down and scoop up the black furball, handing him over to Jay. Adam squirmed for a moment in Jay’s arms before becoming comfortable and completely pliant.

“I guess I should show you where you’ll be staying, huh?” Jessica suggested. Without waiting for an answer, she exited the kitchen, heading down the hall. Jay followed close behind as they passed her room and the bathroom, coming to a spare bedroom at the end of the hall. Jessica opened the door for him and allowed Jay to enter first.

The room was a decent size and a queen sized bed rested against the right wall, a desk and dresser against the opposite wall. In the far left corner of the room, a thin strip of windows ran across the top of the room, allowing light to flood in while also preventing others to look in. Jay found a certain comfort in that, though he wasn’t sure why. Hoodie was on his side now, so he didn’t have to fear the man peaking in through the windows. Perhaps what he feared wasn’t Hoodie, but someone else. Someone with a gun…

“I like the colour,” Jay complimented for lack of anything else to say. Adam shifted slightly in his arms before yawning. From behind them, Jessica chuckled.

“When I moved in, there was hideous wooden panelling everywhere. It took a while, but I remodeled most of the house.”

Three of the walls in the bedroom were white, the fourth wall at the head of the bed being yellow. It was a nice change after the drab, musty hotels Jay had stayed in and the - admittedly - depressing atmosphere of Tim’s house.

“Well it’s nice,” Jay said, taking a last look around the room before turning to Jessica. “I think I’m gonna get my stuff from the car.”

“Alright,” Jessica said, stepping to the side so Jay had room to leave. “You can take Adam with you. He probably needs to go outside anyway.”

Jay stepped into the hall, cat in arms, and headed into the living room and out the front door. As he awkwardly maneuvered to close the door, Adam jumped to the ground, beginning to roam around the yard. Door firmly closed behind him, Jay approached his car, popping the trunk and fishing out his duffel bag of clothes and other necessities and his laptop bag. Straps over his shoulders and bags gently bumping his hips, Jay surveyed the yard; Jessica’s cat was nowhere to be found, so Jay headed back inside alone.

Back in his new bedroom, Jay set his bags on the floor beside the dresser, not bothering to unpack his stuff yet. After all, this was just another temporary living arrangement; sooner or later he’d be leaving again. From past the hall, he could hear Jessica shuffling around before turning on the television in the living room. Something about it was so normal, so human, that Jay found himself relaxing just a little. It was easy to picture himself back in college, spending the weekend at a friend’s house, watching TV and… And…

No, he wasn’t in college and he wasn’t hanging out with his friends for the weekend. He was homeless and his boyfriend - who had a broken leg, mind you - was missing.

With his small fantasy shattered, Jay let out a sigh, closing the bedroom door. He figured Jessica wouldn’t mind if he took a nap. Well, it was a little late for a nap. Perhaps “going to bed early” was the correct statement.

Lights turned off, the room was still bathed in the light that flooded through the thin windows along the top of the corner of the room. Jay pondered for a moment whether or not he should close the curtains and ultimately decided to. Though he knew it was unlikely, he didn’t want to take the chance; he almost always felt like he was being watched, so why not? At the very least, it wouldn’t hurt anything.

Small curtains closed, Jay kicked off his shoes, undid his belt, and shimmied his pants from his hips. The piece of clothing hit the floor with a quiet noise and Jay stepped out of the article of clothing before flopping down diagonally across the mattress, his feet hanging over the edge. Dressed in his shirt, boxers, and a pair of socks, Jay closed his eyes.

It was nearly an hour before he managed to sleep and just before he drifted off, he couldn’t keep himself from wondering why he was always so tired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally realized what this story was missing: a cat


	38. All Is Silent

Tim had never been much of a fan of driving in the dark and even less of a fan of driving in the rain, but as he pulled into the driveway of an unfamiliar house, he simply hoped he had arrived at his destination. Upon awakening in the driveway, his crutches and the familiar plastic mask beside him, Tim had immediately gotten into his car, ready to leave his house behind. It wasn’t like he had much left anyway. A little folded piece of paper had been set on the dash; the hurried writing contained an address with “Jessica’s house” written beneath the location. After searching the address with his GPS, he had arrived at a house, knocking on the front door to quickly find that he had put in the address wrong.

Sitting in the driver’s seat, Tim cut the engine, praying he had the right house. It was already after eleven and he was ready to get some proper rest. His body ached from whatever antics he had been up to all day, not to mention the fact that his leg hurt like never before. After getting out of his car the first time, a task that seemed to take forever because of his need for crutches, his clothes were soaked through from the downpour.

Tim only bothered to grab his duffel bag of clothes and basic necessities from the passenger seat, slipping his head and one arm through the strap before grabbing his crutches from the passenger’s seat as well and exiting the vehicle. The porch light was off and it seemed like the rest of the lights inside the house were in a similar state, but at that point, Tim was just ready to be able to get out of the rain and change into some dry clothes.

Hurrying as fast as he could across the damp grass, the crutches nearly slipped out from under him more than once before he was finally under the small overhang of the front door. Heaving a tired sigh, Tim raised his fist to knock with the door suddenly swung open, Hoodie standing in the doorway. Tim had the fleeting thought of, /Great, three cryptics in one house,/ but he pushed the thought aside. He wasn’t going to get anywhere thinking like that.

Behind Hoodie, the living room was cast into darkness; past that, the dining room was just barely lit by a dim light from the next room, most likely the kitchen. Standing on the flat concrete stone just before the door, Tim shivered. A warm bed and fresh clothes sounded wonderful right about now, as long as the rain hadn’t already soaked through his duffel bag.

Once Hoodie had stepped back to allow Tim enough space to enter, the man entered the house. Before he could maneuver himself to push the door closed, it was quietly shut behind him; Tim watched as Hoodie returned to the corner sofa and eased himself down onto it, the soft material giving under his weight. As soon as he was horizontal, a dark shape moved to settle on top of him, resting on his chest; Tim could only guess it was some kind of pet.

Turning his attention to the hallway on the left side of the room, Tim hobbled forward into the dark space. The light from the kitchen at the opposite end of the hall cast just enough light that he could see the three doors, though he had no idea which one was his. Maybe he was supposed to sleep on the couch? That didn’t quite fit, considering Jay was missing. He had to be behind one of those doors… Unless he wasn’t there at all.

The muffled sound of fingers snapping got Tim’s attention and he turned back to face the living room to see Hoodie with his hand raised. Having gained Tim’s attention, the masked man pointed toward the end of the hall closest to Tim. Said man turned to see the last door, the darkness surrounding it making it match the other two, and he wasted no more time in turning the handle. Just like the rest of the house, the room was dark, though this room seemed exceptionally so.

Once Tim had pushed the door closed behind him, he blindly felt his way through the dark with his crutches until he bumped into the end of the bed. The quietest of sighs left his mouth as he laid the metal crutches down on the floor at the end of the bed, the items clunking together in the silence. As Tim pulled the duffel bag over his head, he thought he heard the sound of someone moving and he froze. He knew it was most likely Jay, but the small chance that it could have been someone else had the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.

No, that was improbable. If anyone had gotten in, Hoodie would have known. Unless he was working with them…

Setting the duffel bag on the floor, Tim began unzipping his jacket, dumping it in a wet pile on the floor when he had pulled it off. His shirt was the next to go, his pants and boxers following. It was difficult to remove his clothing from the waist down, but after pulling them past his hips and taking a seat on the end of the bed, he managed to remove the rest of his clothes. Awkwardly fumbling around in the dark, Tim eventually found his duffel bag again and pulled out a handful of clean clothes. In the darkness, he could hardly tell what he’d grabbed, but once he felt a pair of boxers, he only bothered to pull them on before dropping the rest of the clothes he’d grabbed back onto his bag.

The grip he had on the mattress was tight as he leaned over again and picked up his crutches and the pile of wet clothes. Dressed in only his underwear, Tim quietly returned to the hall, his clothes tucked under one of his arms between his skin and the padded cover of the crutch.

“Hoodie,” he whispered, and though his voice was barely audible in the silence, Hoodie’s head still turned to acknowledge him. “Where’s the washer and dryer?”

One of Hoodie’s hand lifted to point toward the kitchen and Tim quietly thanked him before heading down the hall. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw the man petting the dark creature on his chest.

True to his word, there was a small room off of the kitchen that held a washer and dryer. Not wanting to wake up the rest of the house, Tim set his clothes in the dryer and closed the door as quietly as he could (which wasn’t as quiet as he would have liked) before returning to his room, closing the door behind him.

The bedroom was pitch black as Tim tentatively felt the way forward with his crutches until he arrived at the far side of the bed. As he took a seat, the man finally let his body relax for the first time in what felt like ages. As gently as he could, Tim set his crutches down beside the bed, pushing them beneath the bed with his right foot so that they wouldn’t be in the way.

Tim shuffled back a little on the mattress before lifting his left leg slowly, bringing it to rest on the mattress. He momentarily considered propping it up on a pillow but decided against it. While he couldn’t see well enough to confirm his theory, he figured that there would only be two pillows on the bed anyway.

As he shuffled in place just a little more, he heard the sound from before, only this time, it was much closer. The blankets beneath Tim’s body shifted slightly as the person beside him, for there was undeniably someone else on the bed, moved in place. Tim’s heart began beating faster at the possibility of who it could be though he was almost certain it was Jay.

“Tim?” Jay’s tired voice croaked uncertainly, the word coming out as a question.

“Yeah,” Tim replied, a quiet, tired chuckle coming after it. His heart began to slow down from its frantic pace as he laid back on the bed. “It’s just me.”

Immediately, Jay’s hand began feeling around in the dark, finding Tim’s arm first and traveling to rest across his stomach as he scooted closer. Tim lifted his arm to let Jay get closer and the cameraman inched closer until his head rested against Tim’s shoulder.

“Good night,” Tim murmured quietly, his voice still sounding loud in the silence of the night that surrounded the house.

“Mm, night,” Jay groaned back before his breaths evened out and he was asleep again. With Jay beside him, it didn’t take long for Tim to fall asleep as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Saw an interesting idea on Tumblr that basically described characters “speaking static” which I think fits really well with what I’m trying to convey in my writing so that might be something I use going forward, especially in the next chapter. Otherwise, it’s going to be really hard for Hoodie/Maskie/Skully to speak to each other without their conversations taking forever.


	39. Precursor Breakfast

The chill of the room was what had Tim stirring awake, the cold seeming more pronounced than the fading warmth of the mattress beside him. As his eyes finally opened a crack, he realized it was morning. Dim light through the thin curtains - with the presence of light, they seemed nearly sheer - was cast upon the room, lighting it just enough so that Tim could clearly see that he was alone. The blanket on the other half of the bed was pulled back, curled up, and wound in all kinds of ways, leaving it wrinkled in disuse.

Still half asleep, Tim was disoriented as he looked around the room. He wasn’t in his house, that was for sure, so where was he? It took some serious thinking and a few long moments before Tim remembered that he no longer had a home and that he had spent what he could remember of the previous day driving to Jessica’s house. So it only stood to reason that he was in a bedroom at Jessica’s place.

Remembering pieces of the night before, Tim knew he had laid down with Jay. He vividly remembered the feel of the other man wrapping his arm over him and cuddling up close to his body. If that was the case, then where was the man now?

Though it was silly, Tim immediately felt the urge to find Jay, no matter where he was. A small sense of anxiety always settled upon him when he didn’t know where his partner was - he still couldn’t believe that Jay was, indeed, his partner - and he quietly pushed himself up, scooting to the end of the bed to get his duffel bag.

Pain shot up his left leg, making the limb throb beneath the black cast. Okay, meds first, finding Jay second.

Leaning over the edge of the mattress, Tim snagged a hold of the strap of his bag and tugged it closer, digging through the soft contents until he found the plastic bottles. The loose contents of the small containers rattled against each other as the bottles were pulled from the bag and a few pills were dumped into Tim’s palm.

Having taken his medication, Tim proceeded to pull out whatever pieces of clothing he grabbed first and put them on.

Dressed in a pair of dark grey sweatpants and a light blue tshirt, Tim fumbled under the bed for his crutches until he found them; ready to find Jay, Tim stood, shoving the metal crutches under his arms and heading toward the common areas.

The minute his foot hit the laminate wood floor of the hallway, Tim could smell some kind of food from the kitchen and heard the sound of Jessica talking quietly. By the time he arrived at the end of the hall and entered the kitchen, it was obvious the others could hear his approach. It was difficult to sneak up on someone when the thump of crutches accompanied your every step, after all. Every head was turned in his direction, including two familiar masked ones.

“Glad you could make it,” Jessica said as Tim stood in the entryway. The man nodded dumbly before slowly making his way to an empty spot at the dining room table.

“We were beginning to think you weren’t coming,” Jessica continued and Tim momentarily felt a comfortable domesticity accompanying her words, like they were a family and had been waiting for Tim to arrive. The illusion vanished quickly though as he took a seat at the square, wooden table beside Skully. Across from Tim, Hoodie was staring blankly at him, his hands shoved into the large front pocket of his light-coloured hoodie. After only a few minutes, the staring was beginning to make Tim uncomfortable, so he turned his attention to the other cryptic.

Sitting to his left, Skully’s head was tilted down toward his chest. Though the mask obscured Tim’s view of the man’s face, he seemed to be asleep, his chest steadily rising and falling with every slow breath and his hands resting loosely in his lap. The thing that stood out to Tim though was the red and black flannel that rested over the man’s shoulders. A simple black shirt was under the open one, but Tim knew where it had come from. It was one of the last things he had packed and he was almost positive he had set it on the top of his other clothes, though he wasn’t sure why he remembered such an insignificant detail.

Besides the two shirts, Skully was dressed in his boxers and something about that seemed odd to Tim. Both of the men - Hoodie and Skully - always seemed to want to cover as much of themselves as possible, perhaps to keep their identity hidden? Tim wasn’t sure why, but whatever the reason, it seemed strange to see Skully dressed so casually.

“Is he asleep?” Tim finally dared to ask, nodding his head once toward Hoodie.

At the sound of Tim’s voice, Skully’s head snapped up, the eyes behind the mask darting back and forth before landing on the man to his right. Some of the tension seemed to leave his body and he stared blankly at Tim, completely ignoring Jessica as she set a plate in front of both Tim and himself.

Tim said his thanks to her before beginning to eat breakfast. It was awkward having Skully stare at him the entire time - even Hoodie had abandoned their staring contest as he pushed up his mask partially so that he could eat - but he knew better than to question it. Instead, he simply copied Hoodie's example and began eating his own breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast. As he ate, he occasionally glanced over to see Skully staring at him but after realizing that the man wouldn't be doing anything else, he gave up looking altogether.

“Well you guys are a lively bunch,” Jessica commented as she took the only available seat to Tim's right.

“I know,” Tim simply replied before taking another bite of food, glancing up over his cup of coffee to see Hoodie still eating. While most of his face remained hidden, something about him seemed familiar. So little of his face was exposed, but the exposed area gave Tim a feeling of familiarity and he only realized he was staring when Hoodie's head jerked up to stare back. A second later, his black-gloved hand was tugging down the black fabric of his mask to hide his face again, the remaining food on his plate left abandoned as he abruptly stood and retreated into the living room.

“You can eat,” Jessica suddenly said, her eyes never leaving her plate. “It's not like we're going to stare at you.”

She paused to take another bite before adding, “Besides, we already know what you look like.”

Jessica finally glanced up to look at Skully and then Tim. A grin appeared on her face and she quickly tacked on, “Trust me, Tim loves the way you look,” before averting her eyes back to her meal and continuing to eat.

Tim nearly choked on his food as he looked over at her, quickly glancing at Skully to see him remove his mask hesitantly, setting it in his lap as he began eating his meal. His hand was clenched into a fest around his fork, scooping his food awkwardly in a way that reminded Tim of an infant using a utensil for the first time, though Tim supposed that wasn’t too far off for Skully. The hand in the man’s lap twitched across the mask, running his fingers over the smooth surface and rough edge of the mask before rapidly tapping the thing. Though lightning fast - Tim wasn’t wholly convinced he hadn’t inhaled his food - Skully miraculously managed to finish half of the food on his plate before he jerked his mask back onto his face and pushed back from the table, fleeing into the living room like Hoodie had.

“Don’t worry,” Jessica said, giving Tim a smile when she noticed how somber he looked, “I’m sure he’ll come around soon.”

“I was supposed to protect him,” Tim sighed, tossing his fork down against his plate with a harsh clink; he was surprised he hadn’t taken out a chunk of the porcelain.

“I’ve had this problem my whole life but Jay… He wasn’t supposed to get drug into this. He was supposed to be normal.”

“Hey,” Jessica said with a stern tone and Tim glanced up to see her face matched her tone. “This whole situation might not be conventional but it doesn’t mean you’re some kind of freak. This is the hand you guys were dealt and even if you had been given a different one, so what? Normal is overrated anyway.”

“Jessica, people are going to get hurt,” Tim argued in exasperation, letting his head drop into his hands. “Alex already tried to hurt you and no one’s seen or heard from Seth, Amy, Sarah, or Brian in years. That can’t just be a coincidence.”

“It actually could be,” Jessica stubbornly replied, “but I see what you’re getting at. Alex is dangerous to everyone, including himself. We just… We just need to figure out how to get him back before he hurts someone.”

Tim simply nodded, letting his eyes close. Why did everything have to be so hard? Why couldn’t he have kept Jay at arm’s length like he knew he should have? He couldn’t just abandon him now, especially when they had grown so close and Jay was so unstable.

“Okay,” Tim finally said, “so let’s think of a plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next one is in progress I swear. No more 3 months between updates ;-;


End file.
